Anxiety and Fear-Related Disorders: Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

Panic disorder and agoraphobia are presented together to reflect their deep history and related neurobiological and psychological explanatory models. Recent diagnostic manuals affirmed that panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia represent distinct conditions despite their high comorbidities. More clinical research is needed focused on the etiology and treatment for each condition independently, particularly agoraphobia. To date, researchers have developed and validated clinician-delivered and self-report measures to help support diagnosis and symptom monitoring. Effective pharmacotherapy and psychosocial interventions provide promising avenues for treatment, with neither clearly demonstrating superior efficacy. Treatment planning should involve collaboration with and consideration for patient preferences. This chapter provides decision trees to guide differential diagnosis and treatment planning and concludes with clinical vignettes reflecting real-world application from case conceptualization through treatment. Panic disorder and agoraphobia will be explored using both the International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) to promote widespread applicability.