case study about panic disorder

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 06 June 2022

Adolescents’ lived experience of panic disorder: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

• Holly J. Baker   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3246-0856 1 ,
• Amelia Hollywood   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9670-2506 2 &
• Polly Waite   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1967-8028 1 , 3  

BMC Psychology volume  10 , Article number:  143 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Panic disorder is a debilitating anxiety disorder that has a serious impact on adolescents’ social and academic functioning and general wellbeing. Panic disorder is experienced by around 1 to 3% of the adolescent population. The aim of this study was to examine adolescents’ experiences of having panic disorder.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adolescents with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to gain an understanding of adolescents’ lived experience of panic disorder.

Two superordinate themes were identified: (1) Drowning in sensations, and (2) An unacceptable self. The findings show that adolescents experience panic disorder as extremely overwhelming and unpleasant, with debilitating feelings of drowning in sensations. Adolescents’ experiences largely fit with the cognitive model of panic, in which catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily sensations is associated with anxiety, avoidance, and safety behaviours, creating a vicious cycle. Attempts to avoid or prevent the attacks appear to inadvertently make them worse. Social worries, feeling broadly misunderstood, and unhelpful responses from others, contributed to feelings of being different or abnormal and were connected to a negative self-concept. Negative social interactions with teachers and peers in the school environment were particularly damaging.

Conclusions

These findings offer new insight into these adolescents’ lived experience of panic disorder and highlight the need for adolescents to access timely, evidence-based treatment, as well as the need for increased awareness and understanding of panic disorder in schools.

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Introduction

Panic disorder is a debilitating anxiety disorder, characterised by repeated, unexpected panic attacks, involving physical symptoms, such as a racing heart, dizziness and chest pain, along with a fear of recurring attacks and changes in behaviour to avoid further attacks [ 1 ]. Less than 0.5% of pre-adolescent children (aged under twelve years) experience panic disorder [ 1 , 2 ]. However, panic disorder is experienced by around 1 to 3% of adolescents [ 3 , 4 , 5 ], with peak onset between 15 and 19 years of age [ 6 ]. Panic disorder commonly co-occurs with other anxiety disorders, particularly agoraphobia [ 7 ] and is more prevalent among girls (1.7%) than boys (0.5%) [ 5 ]. It typically has a negative impact across different areas of adolescents’ lives, including social interactions and academic functioning [ 8 ]. Recent evidence suggests that clinicians appear to commonly have difficulty identifying panic disorder in adolescents [ 9 ]. While there are cognitive behavioural treatments that have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of panic disorder in adolescents [ 10 ], a significant minority continue to experience panic disorder post-treatment. Therefore, it is crucial that we develop a greater understanding of adolescents’ experience of panic disorder to improve its identification and treatment.

The existing literature gives some indication of the diagnostic symptoms experienced by children and adolescents with panic disorder. The most common symptoms experienced by more than two thirds of children and adolescents (aged 8–17 years) with panic disorder appear to be dizziness, shortness of breath [ 11 ], palpitations and shaking [ 12 , 13 ]. Around half of young people also report experiencing depersonalisation/derealisation (i.e., feelings of unreality in terms of the self and others/surroundings), and cognitive symptoms, including fears of dying [ 11 , 13 , 14 ] and of going crazy or losing control [ 11 , 13 , 14 ]. This is consistent with evidence of an association between panic disorder and anxiety sensitivity [ 8 , 15 ] i.e., a tendency to believe that the experience of anxiety causes illness, embarrassment, or further anxiety. Kearney, et al. [ 8 ] found that children and adolescents aged 8–17 years had higher levels of anxiety sensitivity than those with other anxiety disorders and Elkins, et al. [ 15 ] found a significant association between anxiety sensitivity and panic disorder symptom severity in adolescents aged 11–17 years. However, it is notable that many of the studies examining the phenomenology of panic disorder in young people were published more than 20 years ago. In addition, caution is warranted in relying on findings from studies that include children as well as adolescents, especially given the very low rates of panic disorder among pre-adolescent children [ 1 , 2 ]. Given that panic disorder is largely seen in adolescents rather than children, further research is required specifically with adolescents, and to move beyond symptoms to better understand the broader lived experience of panic disorder in adolescents.

In contrast to adolescents, panic disorder in adults is well understood, with a well-validated model that allows us to understand the development and maintenance of panic disorder [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Clark’s cognitive model of panic [ 16 ] proposes that normal physiological anxiety responses are misinterpreted in a catastrophic way (e.g., an increased heart rate may be misinterpreted as a heart attack), and that the individual perceives immediate danger, causing further apprehension and bodily sensations that culminate in a panic attack. Raffa et al. [ 19 ] found that 90% of adults with panic disorder had between one and four feared consequences during a panic attack, with the most common fears being embarrassment, death, fainting, going crazy, losing control and inability to cope/loss of independence [ 19 ]. Safety behaviours are protective behaviours aimed at avoiding or preventing perceived threats and are present across anxiety disorders [ 20 ]. Avoidance strategies and safety behaviours are commonly used, for example, avoiding situations or activities that are perceived to elicit panic attacks [ 1 ], and contribute to the maintenance of panic cognitions [ 21 ]. However, it is not known if adolescents’ experiences of panic disorder are similar to adults, in terms of how they make sense of the sensations and what they do to try to cope during panic attacks.

It is possible that adolescents’ experiences of panic disorder differ to that of adults due to developmental differences, as well as environmental factors. Adolescence is characterised by physical, behavioural, social and cognitive changes [ 22 , 23 ], with the adolescent brain undergoing structural and functional changes [ 23 ]. Neurological development of the ‘social brain’ [ 24 ] is of particular importance during adolescence and is informed by perceptions of how others view us (e.g., other people think I’m weird) [ 25 ]. Coupled with these changes, social interactions become more complex and more important than among younger children [ 26 ]. Furthermore, adolescents experience increased self-awareness [ 27 , 28 ] and a continuing development of self-concept, which is particularly influenced by peers [ 25 ]. Social interactions also have an increased impact on adolescents’ psychological wellbeing compared with children and adults [ 29 ], with negative social interactions and peer rejection leading to worsened mood, increased distress and anxiety [ 30 ]. These factors are likely to be salient for adolescents with panic disorder, and negative experiences and interactions are likely to be particularly impactful, due to a combination of these developmental sensitivities. In addition, adolescents are likely to be in full-time education and living at home with parents, and so it may be particularly important to understand the role played by others (i.e., school staff, peers, and family members) in adolescents’ experiences of having panic disorder.

Qualitative research methods are particularly useful for exploratory research questions in the field of mental health, where little is already known about the phenomenon [ 31 ]. To our knowledge, there are no published qualitative accounts of adolescent experiences of having panic disorder (or indeed anxiety disorders more broadly). There is one qualitative interview study of 14–18-year-olds who had experienced panic attacks within the last year (but had not been diagnostically assessed for panic disorder) [ 32 ]. Semi-structured interviews of ten adolescents (mean age 16.7 years) were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Six themes were identified that included panic attacks feeling intense, overwhelming, out of control and like a battle within themselves. Mental images enhanced the intensity of panic. As a consequence, adolescents felt isolated, disconnected from others, and the attacks had a negative impact on identity [ 32 ]. Hewitt et al. concluded that further research with clinical samples of adolescents with a diagnosis of panic disorder would be important in addressing the limitation of potential diagnostic heterogeneity in their sample and enabling further understanding of this phenomenon.

The current study is the first to explore the lived experience of adolescents with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder. We focused on adolescents aged 11–18 years, as panic disorder is prevalent within this age range, and this age group share similar environments (e.g., likely to be living at home with family members and in full time compulsory education). Specifically, the research aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of adolescents’ lived experience of panic disorder.

This was a qualitative, one-to-one, semi-structured interview design. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the University of Reading Ethics Committee (REF: UREC 19/46) and through the NHS Research Ethics Committee (REF: 19/SC/0287).

Methodology

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) [ 33 ] is an idiographic approach grounded in understanding individual experiences [ 34 ] and has utility in its clinical application and within wider theoretical contexts [ 35 ]. IPA was used to understand adolescents’ subjective experience of the phenomenon of panic disorder. The lead researcher (HB) approached the analysis from a phenomenological philosophical perspective.

Participants

As is typical for IPA, we aimed for a homogenous sample. Participants were included in the study if they were aged 11–18 years, had a DSM-5 diagnosis of panic disorder [ 1 ], experienced at least one panic attack in the preceding month and did not have an autistic spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, suicidal intent, or recurrent or potentially life-limiting self-harm. Eight participants were interviewed for the study, and all had panic disorder as their primary anxiety disorder diagnosis. Their demographic and clinical characteristics are shown in Table 1 . In terms of demographic backgrounds, participants were aged from 13 to 17 years of age and represent a relatively homogenous sample in terms of sex (with only one male participant and the remainder female), and ethnicity (with only one participant from a background other than White British).

Recruitment

Participants were recruited using purposive homogenous sampling. All participants had been recruited to a NIHR-funded feasibility study of the treatment of panic disorder in adolescents, being conducted within the NHS-commissioned Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY) Research Clinic at The University of Reading. Participants were referred for treatment by primary and secondary care services, or recruited through local advertising (e.g., in schools, GP surgeries and on social media). Once referred for treatment, an assessment was conducted to determine whether they met diagnostic criteria for panic disorder (i.e., recurrent, unexpected panic attacks with four or more symptoms and persistent worries about future attacks or related changes in behaviour) [ 1 ] and were eligible for the trial. Interviews for this study took place between October 2019 and October 2020. The first five interviews took place before the COVID-19 pandemic and UK lockdown, which began on 16 th March 2020. Three interviews took place during the pandemic.

If participants were eligible and agreed to take part in the trial, they were then approached face to face and asked if they would like to participate in a qualitative interview about their experience of having panic disorder. Written informed consent was given by adolescents aged 16–18 years (or assent for adolescents under 16 years of age). Parents gave written informed consent for adolescents under 16 years of age. Parents also gave written informed consent for themselves to complete measures as part of the trial. Participants were the first eight sequentially to agree to participate. One (male) participant in the trial declined to be interviewed but did not provide a reason. Although there was little variability in terms of sex and ethnicity, this reflects the wider trial sample. The sample size was typical of IPA as analysis is based on detailed, in-depth examination of a small number of cases [ 33 ].

Data were collected using one to one, semi-structured interviews conducted by lead researcher HB, a female postgraduate researcher in psychology who had training and experience in qualitative research. The study was carried out as part of the lead researcher’s PhD. The interviewer had not met participants prior to them agreeing to take part in the interview and was not involved in the wider feasibility study. Interviews took place prior to the participants beginning treatment for panic disorder. They were conducted with only the researcher and the participant present, either at the clinic (n = 4), in the young person’s home (n = 3) or via video-conferencing software (n = 1) (due to restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Participants were reimbursed for the time taken to participate. At the start of each interview the researcher (HB) explained that the purpose was to gain an understanding of young peoples’ experiences of having panic disorder. Interviews were guided by broad, open questions based on an interview schedule (see Additional file 1 : Fig. S1) that was developed in line with IPA methodology and recommendations [ 33 ]. It included questions covering the participant’s experience of having a panic attack, perceived causes, and how panic had affected their life. Each participant determined the flow of the interview, including the topics and the depth to which they were discussed. Gentle prompts were used to suggest topics that seemed to be of importance to the participant. Interviews were audio-recorded and ranged from 18 to 63 min duration (mean = 40 min). Recordings were transcribed verbatim by HB and the transcripts formed the raw data. NVivo 11 software was used to organise the data. Pseudonyms were allocated to participants to protect their identity.

The Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-C/P; [ 36 ]), and Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS; [ 37 ]) were used to determine diagnoses of panic disorder and co-morbid disorders. Panic symptom severity was assessed using the Panic Disorder Severity Scale for Children [ 38 ]. Further information on all measures is included in Additional file 1 : Fig. S2.

Analysis was completed in a six-step process in line with the recommendations for using IPA [ 33 , 39 , 40 ]. Initial exploratory notes were made on each individual transcript of emerging themes, as well as commenting on participants explicit meanings, focusing on thoughts and experiences expressed and on linguistic points of interest, (e.g., pauses, words/phrases emphasised by the participant). The lead researcher (HB) made interpretations that went beyond explicit meanings to implied meaning, exploring the emotional responses of both the participant and researcher to gain an understanding of participants’ subjective experience. Initial emergent themes were developed into subordinate and superordinate themes by exploring connections and patterns between cases, examining similarities and differences between accounts, while remaining closely tied to participants’ accounts. The lead researcher engaged in a double hermeneutic process, as she tried to make sense of the participant’s experience, while the participant was also trying to make sense of their own experience. The researcher made notes in a reflective log throughout the process, recording thoughts, feelings and interpretations of possible meanings and connections to theoretical perspectives. This allowed the researcher (HB) to explore her responses, bring awareness to assumptions and biases and how these may affect the interviews and analysis. Therefore, this process aided the researcher in ‘bracketing off’ [ 33 ] these assumptions and biases. Emergent themes, subordinate and superordinate themes were discussed with AH, a health psychologist and PW, a clinical psychologist, who are both researchers with qualitative expertise. Researcher biases and assumptions were considered and included previous experience working in adult (HB, PW) or child and adolescent mental health services (PW), conducting research into young people’s mental health (HB, PW) and adult physical health (AH, HB, PW). Alternative interpretations were considered and discussed. Themes were re-analysed in an iterative process, ensuring that each participant’s experience was incorporated. Emergent themes were re-ordered before establishing final subordinate and superordinate themes with illustrative participant quotes identified.

Rigour and study quality

The study was carried out in accordance with the quality guidelines for qualitative research [ 41 ], including the four principles of sensitivity to context, commitment and rigour, transparency and coherence, and impact and importance. Sensitivity to context was demonstrated through paying particular attention to the interview process, taking time to put participants at ease, using informal language, being aware of the participants’ sensitivities and of the power imbalance between interviewer and interviewee. This sensitivity continued throughout the analysis process. Commitment and rigour were addressed by recruiting a sample that was homogenous in terms of all participants having a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (assessed using the same gold standard assessment process), being of a similar in age, and recruited to a feasibility study within the same clinical service. To increase study rigour and transparency, an audit trail was kept throughout the study and analysis process documenting how themes were developed ideographically and across participants. To increase the trustworthiness of the analysis, we also followed guidance for quality and validity specifically in IPA [ 42 , 43 ]. This involved building a picture of experience case by case before identifying similarities and differences across cases, use of a double hermeneutic to develop meaning around the individual’s lived experiences and constructing a compelling narrative.

Analysis resulted in two superordinate themes: (1) Drowning in sensations and (2) An unacceptable self. An overview of superordinate and subordinate themes are presented in Table 2 . Together these themes identify how adolescents experience panic disorder and the most salient aspects of their lived experience.

Drowning in sensations

This superordinate theme represents adolescents’ experiences of panic disorder as an intensely unpleasant physical, cognitive, and emotional experience. Each of these elements were interwoven, as adolescents tried to make sense of what was going on in their bodies and minds. This superordinate theme is presented in three interrelated subordinate themes: “A vicious kind of circle”, “A different mentality” and Losing the battle.

“A vicious kind of circle”

The onset of panic attacks associated with panic disorder were experienced by each of the adolescents as a series of sudden overwhelming physical sensations. These sensations were present in the lead-up to, and during panic attacks, and included feeling their heart pounding, feeling they could not breathe, sweating, shaking, stomach pains, tingling in parts of the body, and dizziness. These sensations were experienced as confusing, frightening, catastrophic and totally overwhelming, as adolescents struggled to understand what was happening to them.

It normally starts in your fingertips and your toes go all really tingly and then like it just starts spreading up your legs and stuff and then you can’t move at all cus once the tingling starts, after that you can’t feel anything and then um like when the dizziness, you’ll like stand up or something and then you just, it’s like a spinning sensation, also like unsteadiness and you feel like if you don’t hold onto something, you’re just going to fall. You can’t breathe properly and like erm, you get like quite snotty, so it kind of all just, you kind of just drown in everything. If it starts happening, then I’ll think that I’m going to have a panic attack and then that will make me panic. When you’re having a panic attack you just think like the worst of everything (Emma).

Emma describes the onslaught of a series of sensations that sweep through her body, with the image of “drowning in everything” representing her feelings of being totally immersed in physical sensations. As Emma experiences these sensations, worst-case scenario thoughts lead to further feelings of panic and thinking about panic attacks “makes” her panic. All adolescents experienced intense thoughts that were catastrophic in nature, that were associated with anxiety, increasing feelings of uncertainty and fear, and contributed to the escalation of attacks in a cyclical way.

I always catastrophise about it. I was worried that I’d feel nervous, then it kept on going round and round like a vicious kind of circle, and then I started to kind of get like, develop more worries for like my health, and like I was going to have a heart attack (Olivia).

Olivia demonstrates how she interprets the physical sensations as meaning that something is seriously physically wrong and how this “vicious kind of circle” escalates the symptoms and worries to the point where, in that moment, she believes her life is under threat. Other adolescents also reflected on how, during a panic attack, they believe that the worst could happen, and they could potentially die.

At first, I struggled to breathe and then I felt like I was going to faint on the floor, it was terrifying, and I was just panicking, and I just kept like trying to hold on to my mum and like squeeze her. I didn’t understand what was going on or why I felt that way, so I was, I was confused as well. I thought I would die (Azita).

Azita’s description of her very first panic attack demonstrates how the lack of understanding about what was happening to her increased feelings of terror, as her fears escalate from worrying about fainting, to worrying that she was going to die. An overwhelming, terrifying series of unexplained physical sensations lead Azita to fear the worst.

“A different mentality”

This subordinate theme expresses how participants felt as though they were in a different state of mind, feeling that the way their mind operated was different to when in a non-panic state. Feelings of unreality, as though in a dream state, were experienced, and this was disorienting.

You’re in a different mentality. You kind of go into this kind of response that’s not logical, it’s like if your logically thinking about something, then you can weigh out the pros and the cons and you can tell yourself ‘well no nothing bad is going to happen, you’re going to be fine’, but in a panic attack you’re already, you’re past that and you’re already at a stage where you will just kind of, your body is telling you to get out of there, like get out of that situation. (Olivia).

Olivia’s experience of her mind being “different” and “not logical” emphasises the experience of being in an altered state of mind. During panic attacks, the capacity to realistically appraise the situation is lost and she feels unable to change her responses, beyond the point of being able to calm herself down.

I sometimes feel like I’m not really there, that I’m kind of dreaming (Mia).

Mia’s extract illustrates how she feels mentally separated or disconnected from the experience as her body is overwhelmed with physical sensations and her mind races with thoughts about what is happening to her.

I feel like the walls are just getting closer and closer and stuff even though they’re not. It’s like in, like adventure shows or movies. It feels sort of erm, slightly unreal (Emma).

The metaphor of being in a movie, or an adventure show, highlights Emma’s feelings of unreality. Emma’s excerpt also illustrates how this experience is a frightening and suffocating one, as she feels like she is being compressed between walls that are closing in on her, and there is no escape.

Losing the battle

This subordinate theme illustrates how, despite attempts to avoid, prevent, or bring an end to the panic attacks, once underway, adolescents felt they were unable to escape the experience, defeated by physical sensations and catastrophic thoughts.

I just felt like I was trapped. I was trapped, I couldn’t breathe. I don’t really know how to describe it but it’s, it’s not nice, because you feel like you can’t get out (Lilly).

As panic symptoms escalate and she feels unable to breathe, Lilly experiences overwhelming feelings of being trapped. Most adolescents experienced similar feelings of being trapped and needing to escape during attacks, and this is further demonstrated by Olivia:

In a panic attack I think your mind goes into like kind of, you know, the sirens on an ambulance, that’s what it kind of does and it like, it goes into an emergency and its thinking well there’s a danger, and you, those kind of lights just start kind of flashing [hands make flashing gesture] and then like, and then your mind, the only thing that you’re trying to think is you have to get out of here, you have to run, you have to, you have to go somewhere else (Olivia).

The language that Olivia uses expresses the urgent need to escape and depicts this experience as the mind being in an emergency mode. Olivia describes her brain giving off warnings, like ambulance sirens, signalling an immediate danger, as the wave of panic approaches and takes over her. This response overwhelms Olivia, as the only thing that she is thinking is how she can get out, run, and get away.

During panic attacks, some adolescents used techniques to try and bring them to an end.

I've tried this breathing technique a friend taught me. Breathe in four breaths, hold for four, breathe out for six. Sometimes it will do absolutely nothing. Sometimes it will just make it worse. The feelings I’m getting have just been intensified. I’ve tried to calm it down thousands of times, but I just can’t get it to calm down. So, then it stresses me out even more, because I’ve just got to the point where I just let them just go. At the moment I’m just trying, I just try and ignore them at the moment because I, I know I can’t do anything to calm down at this point, but I try sometimes, it just makes them worse... So realistically, I’ve just given up trying to calm them down (Alexandra).

Alexandra experiences these attempts to end the panic attack as a futile cycle of trial and error of strategies. As her symptoms escalate, she is unable to gain control over them, and cannot calm herself down. This leads to feelings of resignation, as she realises that she cannot control or avoid the panic state and has “given up” trying to stop them. All adolescents expressed similar feelings of ultimately being defeated by the overwhelming sensations.

It’s just kind of being overwhelmed with all these feelings that you can’t really control or like hide in a way, like it just all kind of floods out of you and makes you feel really weak. It just makes me feel really weak like I can’t, I feel like I can’t walk properly, like I just feel really like, not capable of doing things (Eva).

Eva’s account describes how the experience of panic disorder feels like a flood, an uncontrollable force that cannot be prevented. She is powerless, physically drained, and weak as she loses the battle against her panic symptoms.

An unacceptable self

This superordinate theme illustrates how adolescents felt that they were unacceptable to themselves and to others. All participants experienced intense social worries and fears of being judged in relation to their panic attacks and worried about having attacks in front of people. These social worries were experienced by adolescents both with and without comorbid social anxiety disorder. Adolescents experienced unhelpful responses from others that appeared to stem from a lack of understanding of panic disorder. Negative interactions, feeling misunderstood and being rejected, contributed to feelings of being unacceptable to others or to themselves. These feelings fed into an overarching negative self-concept, feeling they were not normal and were an outsider. This superordinate theme is expressed in three subordinate themes: Under the social spotlight, The unhelpful helpers and The outsider.

Under the social spotlight

This subordinate theme represents participants’ worries about being judged negatively by other people or being stigmatised in relation to their panic attacks. These social worries were part of the experience of panic disorder for all adolescents in this study.

I’m trying, I’m trying to hide what’s going on, but I can’t, because in the moment you want to scream, you can’t breathe, you’re freaking out, but you also don’t want anyone to stare at you or to realize what’s going on, because obviously they won’t understand what’s going on. That kind of makes it worse, because while you’re trying to manage a panic attack, you’re also trying to look like you’re not having one, because you don’t want people’s judgment and even afterwards, you’re embarrassed because everyone just saw you freak out (Azita).

Azita’s extract emphasises how she feels that the panic is something she needs to hide from other people. The overwhelming, frightening experience of the attack is coupled with anxiety and embarrassment about how others may view what is happening to her and the need to contain it. “Obviously they won’t understand” shows us how Azita feels alienated, that other people don’t understand her experience, and that she will be judged negatively. This extract demonstrates how these social worries feed into the panic cycle, increasing symptoms, and intensifying the unpleasantness of the overall experience, as worrying about the social implications intensifies everything and “makes it worse”.

When panic attacks occur in the school environment, where young people are constantly surrounded by others, fears around being judged are commonly part of adolescents’ lived reality of panic disorder.

I was around other people, so it just made it worse, and people were looking, which made it also worse. I was aware that people were watching (Lilly).

Lilly experiences feeling heightened awareness of other people watching as she has a panic attack, explaining that being around other people and being watched makes the experience worse for her.

It just brings attention to you, and you don’t want attention. I’m like kind of breathing quite heavily, that’s when other people start to notice and then if someone um just looks at me, or asks if I’m ok, then it’ll get faster, cus I know that people are starting to realise, and then I’ll start getting a few more [symptoms] (Emma).

Emma further illustrates how having a panic attack while around other people, intensifies her panic attack, increasing her symptoms. If people do notice and start to look at her, the attack gets “faster”, demonstrating the experience of the increasing intensity of panic attacks due to being observed.

The unhelpful helpers

This subordinate theme illustrates how adolescents felt that other people who should be there to help, often lacked understanding about their panic disorder.

I feel like they [teachers] didn't understand what was happening (Andrew).

Andrew highlights feeling that school staff did not understand what was happening to him during panic attacks. Several participants had experienced this lack of understanding in school, where teachers had responded in unhelpful ways. This lack of understanding led to responses that were unhelpful, and often made the experience of having a panic attack worse for them.

Sometimes people try and help, but it doesn’t help and then I get mad at them cus they’re telling me to do this thing, and I’m like, that doesn’t work, I’ve already tried. I know they’re trying to help me, but it doesn’t help. They [school staff] were saying ‘breathe in now’ and then like if I didn’t then they kept telling me that I’m not listening to them. It doesn’t help. They kept standing over me and stuff and like threatening to, they were like ‘if you don’t come now, we’ll do this’ and stuff and they kept asking me questions and I couldn’t respond, so they, they started calling me rude (Emma).

Emma expresses how, even though sometimes other people offered help her during panic attacks, their intervention made things worse. She felt misunderstood as teachers interpreted her lack of response to them as her being rude. She felt frustration at having “already tried” strategies to calm down, and repeated instructions from teachers to “breathe in”, which only contributed to feeling totally overwhelmed and misunderstood.

I had a teacher who didn’t really understand. I was starting to feel like a big panic in class, like it was coming up, I knew it was coming, I had to leave like it would just get worse and worse, so I put my hand up, I said, ‘can I leave for a second’ like trying to breathe, and she was like ‘for what?’ I was like ‘I just really need to step outside’ and she said ‘no’ and I was like, ‘please, I really need to step outside’, she said ‘no’. So, I just sat there, and it got so bad that lesson, and from there I had such a fear of that class and that one teacher, that I just I couldn’t go back (Azita).

This scenario demonstrates the lack of power Azita felt; while in the school environment, she did not have the autonomy to just leave the room. Her worries about being prevented from leaving the classroom in subsequent panic attacks contributed to a cycle of worry and avoidance. This culminated in Azita never returning to that teacher’s classes, with a negative impact on her education.

Unhelpful reactions could come from peers (including friends) as well as school staff.

They can make fun of it a little bit and [pause], you know they kind of laugh a little bit about it but when really, it’s actually serious. I just want, I’d rather if they didn’t make jokes about it, because it’s quite like, upsetting. When I told them about, that I was doing this research, and I said they gave me some money, they were like oh ‘I want to have panic attacks too, oh no! on no! I’m panicking! I’m panicking!’ and you know, kind of doing that, and I was like ‘well no, that’s not what a panic attack is like, that’s not what it is’. But they just don’t really understand what it’s like. I was thinking at the time, I was just like, oh they joke around, it’s just kind of what teenagers do. But after, I was thinking well that just kind of proves they don’t understand (Olivia).

Although Olivia has confided in her friends about her panic disorder and how she has received some money as a thank you for taking part in research, her friends appear to overlook her experience of having panic disorder and instead make a joke of it, implying perhaps that receiving some money would make it worth experiencing panic attacks. This leaves Olivia feels invalidated and upset.

The outsider

This subordinate theme represents how adolescents felt that panic disorder was a part of themselves that they did not like and did not want, a part that was unacceptable to themselves and to other people. This often left them feeling like the outsider. This feeling was emphasised by experiences where they felt stigmatised or rejected and negative interactions with others contributed to feeling that they were not ok, did not fit in and were different to other people. Overall, this contributed to a negative self-concept.

As soon as I told them, they started just saying, just not hanging around me. I think they just don’t, maybe they didn’t know how to deal with me, or they just thought of me differently or they just, I don’t know. I’m not them, I don’t know how they [pause], I try not to dwell on it too much. But it does upset me sometimes that they just ditched me. Part of me just doesn’t feel like I fit in (Alexandra).

Alexandra feels left out, rejected, and abandoned, and that other people’s perceptions of her changed due to her difficulties. The fact that others do not know how to “deal” with her, leads to her feeling that other people do not understand her or know how best to respond. This contributes to her feeling that this is a part of herself which other people cannot accept and that she does not fit in.

I tend to just leave it out, cus I feel like that’s just a different part of me that I don’t really want. I feel like they’re just seeing this person that’s not really like human, just got problems. I feel like I don’t really fit in, I can’t be normal, but it also feels a bit weird, because I’m not like all of my friends, I’m not like everyone in my class, yeah, a bit of an outsider (Eva).

Eva’s account illustrates feelings of shame as she “leaves out” her panic disorder when talking to other people. She feels that other people see her as “not really human”, and this encapsulates the feeling of being alien and different to other people. The idea that people only see her as someone who has got “problems” illustrates her feelings that people do not really see who she really is beyond her panic disorder. The impact of this on her self-concept is that she feels she is not normal and does not fit in with her friends and peers, contributing to feeling isolated and alone with her experiences. These feelings of negative self-concept were shared with almost all the participants.

Why am I not normal? Why can’t I be like everyone else? It kind of feels a bit lonely, cus you’re like, well kind of it’s, it’s quite like being left out, because you just kind of want to be like everyone else and just kind of be able to sit through these kind of things but like you can’t, because like you’re not like everyone else (Olivia).

Olivia illustrates here how she deeply wants to be like other people and feel that she fits in. There is a sense of not understanding why she is not like other people, and this saddens and frustrates her. For Olivia, having panic disorder means that she is not like others, and does not fit in, she is an outsider. She is unable to participate in the things that her friends can, because of her panic disorder. She feels left out and lonely, and that fundamentally she is “not normal”.

This study explored eight adolescents’ (aged 13 to 17 years) lived experience of panic disorder and is the first qualitative study examining adolescents who have been diagnosed with panic disorder. Two superordinate themes were identified, capturing adolescents’ experience of panic disorder. The first superordinate theme, Drowning in sensations, was presented in three subordinate themes: “A vicious kind of circle”, “A different mentality”, and Losing the battle. The second superordinate theme, An unacceptable self, was presented in three subordinate themes: Under the social spotlight, The unhelpful helpers and The outsider.

Although our findings identified that adolescents experienced cognitive factors and symptoms that fit with current understanding of adults and adolescents with panic disorder, we also identified aspects of the panic experience that were of particular importance for adolescents. In line with the previous literature on common symptoms among adolescents [ 11 , 12 ], the first superordinate theme, Drowning in sensations, represented the experience of panic disorder as typically being characterised by catastrophic cognitions and misinterpretation of bodily sensations as reflecting impending physical or mental danger (e.g., dying or losing control). The experience of drowning in sensations incorporated feeling a loss of control of the body and the mind, and of being defeated by panic attacks. This theme corresponds with the findings identified in Hewitt et al.’s [ 32 ] study of adolescents (aged 15 to 18 years) with panic attacks who identified that feeling out of control during panic attacks was a dominant theme. Misinterpretation of physical sensations is entirely consistent with the cognitive model of panic in adults [ 16 , 17 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], and associations between anxiety sensitivity and panic disorder in children and adolescents [ 15 , 47 ]. Also consistent with this model, adolescents appeared to engage in a range of safety behaviours [ 48 , 49 ], intended to prevent their feared catastrophes from occurring, inadvertently maintaining a vicious cycle of thoughts, sensations and behaviours.

The second superordinate theme; An unacceptable self, highlighted important factors in adolescents’ experiences of panic disorder that appeared to reflect this being a unique developmental period. Unlike adults, adolescents very often lacked the autonomy to leave situations freely during panic attacks, for example being made to remain in classrooms in school. In many situations, this meant negative interactions with teachers, and often (possibly inadvertently) unhelpful behaviours from teachers and peers, which contributed to feeling broadly misunderstood and appeared to intensify the experience. These findings correspond with those of Hewitt et al., who found adolescents had encountered a lack of understanding about their panic attacks, negative interactions with teachers and peers [ 32 ].

Also identified in the second superordinate theme, and of particular importance for adolescents, was the experience of being ‘Under the social spotlight’, with heightened social anxieties around having panic attacks appearing to contribute to the panic cycle. It was interesting that they were experienced both by adolescents with, and without comorbid social anxiety disorder and pervaded before, during and after attacks. Although consistent with findings that adults experience embarrassment about panic attacks [ 32 ], for the adolescents in this study, these worries extended beyond fears of embarrassment to worries about being rejected by peers, being socially excluded and/or being treated differently. This culminated in a sense of being unacceptable to themselves and to others. Furthermore, worrying about having panic attacks in social spaces within school, led to increased avoidance of those situations and intensified or escalated the panic attack cycle for adolescents, contributing to the negative impact of panic overall. This aspect of the panic experience may be especially salient for adolescents. The importance and impact of social relationships for adolescents has been well documented [ 25 , 27 , 50 ] and our findings emphasise the importance of understanding the interplay between social cognition, negative social interactions, and the panic cycle, specifically for adolescents who are in a sensitive phase of social development.

In the second superordinate theme, we also identified that adolescents’ experiences of panic disorder contributed to feeling like an outsider and having a negative self-concept. Adolescents felt they were different or “not normal” compared with peers. These feelings were compounded by a lack of understanding and negative social interactions with other people in connection with their panic attacks. This included being bullied, socially isolated or being perceived as “rude” or difficult during attacks. Negative self-concept, self-hate and self-blame during adolescence are associated with anxiety and depression [ 51 ], therefore, experiencing anxiety in itself may add to negative self-concept that is associated with additional worries, forming another kind of vicious cycle for these adolescents. Our findings in relation to self-concept also correspond with those of Hewitt et al., where adolescents’ identities were affected in a negative way [ 32 ]. Adolescence is a critical time for the development of a socially integrated self-concept, which is informed by perceptions of how others view us (e.g., other people think I’m weird) [ 25 ]. Therefore, these negative social experiences may be particularly impactful for adolescents with panic disorder.

Our findings have several clear implications. The overwhelmingly unpleasant and distressing experience of panic disorder and the negative impact on important parts of adolescents’ lives, such as their education, highlights the importance of being able to access effective, timely treatments. Our findings broadly support a cognitive conceptualisation of the disorder and fit with the current evidence base for the treatment of panic disorder in young people, which involves cognitive behaviour therapy [ 10 , 38 ]. Given the prominence of avoidance and safety behaviours exhibited among the adolescents in this study, addressing these factors in treatment through exposure is likely to be vital [ 52 ]. It is also likely to be important that therapists liaise with school staff during treatment to ensure that teachers have guidance about how best to respond when the young person experiences panic attacks at school. The adolescents in this study reported associated social worries and negative self-evaluations; although successfully treating panic disorder may have a positive impact in these areas, further investigation of this will be important.

More broadly, our findings highlight a need for increased awareness and understanding among young people and school staff, so that adolescents experiencing panic attacks within the school environment are met with greater understanding from peers and can access appropriate help and support from staff. Mental health education has been demonstrated to reduce stigma and increase knowledge among school staff [ 53 ] and students [ 54 , 55 ]. Therefore, providing psychoeducation, that includes information about dealing with anxiety and panic attacks through teacher training and the school curriculum (e.g., through personal social health and economic education lessons) is potentially a feasible and effective way to increase awareness and understanding among staff and students.

Strengths and limitations

This research needs to be considered in light of several strengths and limitations. Our findings build on those of Hewitt et al. [ 32 ] by focusing on adolescents with a diagnosis of panic disorder, as opposed to young people who had experienced panic attacks, which can be associated with a range of psychological difficulties, and by including younger adolescents (aged 11–14 years) in the sample, as well as those aged 15–18 years. As is desirable in IPA, the sample was homogenous; all participants had a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (assessed through a gold standard assessment), were within the adolescent age range, had been referred for treatment, and were recruited through the same clinical service. We followed quality guidelines for qualitative research generally [ 41 ] and within IPA specifically [ 33 , 42 , 43 ] throughout the study. The lead researcher (HB) engaged in a double hermeneutic process, to make sense of the participants’ experiences, whilst the participants were also trying to make sense of their own experiences. An idiographic, analytical, and reflexive practice was adopted throughout the process to ensure results are representative of the experiences of the adolescents in this study. Although the use of a double hermeneutic process is a strength of the analysis, it is important to acknowledge that there may also be other interpretations of the data from a different researcher perspective [ 33 ]. Similarly, the homogeneity of the sample also means that participants’ experiences may be specific to their situation; for example, those who have not been diagnosed or sought treatment may have very different experiences. All but one participant was female and although this reflects broader sex differences in the prevalence of panic disorder [ 5 ], it would be important to explore the experience of different sexes further. Within this study we defined adolescence as aged 11–18 years. However, it must be noted that adolescence can be defined using differing theoretical frameworks (e.g., biological, social) [ 56 ], anywhere between nine and 26 years of age [ 57 ]. As adolescents reach their late teens and early twenties, significant life changes are likely to occur, such as leaving full-time education, entering full time work, going into higher education, and leaving the home environment, and therefore aspects of the experience of having panic disorder may differ from the adolescents in this study.

Adolescents experienced panic disorder as a debilitating cycle of intense, physical sensations and catastrophic thoughts that ultimately overwhelmed them. This experience was consistent with the adult cognitive model of panic, as catastrophic thoughts and misinterpretation of bodily sensations led to increasing anxiety, avoidance, and safety behaviours, creating a vicious cycle. Social worries, feeling broadly misunderstood, and unhelpful responses from others, contributed to feelings of being different or abnormal and were connected to a negative self-concept. Given the significant distress experienced by adolescents with panic disorder, accessing timely and effective psychological treatment is critical. There is also a clear need for increased awareness in schools among staff and young people, to ensure that adolescents experiencing panic attacks in the school environment are well supported.

Availability of data and materials

The research materials can be accessed by contacting the corresponding author.

Abbreviations

Interpretive phenomenological analysis

University of Reading Ethics Committee

National Health Service

National Institute of Health Research

Anxiety and Depression in Young People Clinic

The anxiety disorders interview schedule

Kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia

Panic disorder severity scale

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

General practitioner

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the young people who took part in the study, the AnDY Research Clinic (Dr Ray Percy, clinicians, and clinic staff), and Dr Katherine Finlay for her guidance on interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology.

HB is supported by a University of Reading studentship (GS17-001). PW (Postdoctoral Research Fellowship; PDF-2016-09-092) is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for this research project. The funding bodies did not have any role in the design of the study or in data collection, analysis, and interpretation or in writing the manuscript. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care.

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HB collected and analysed all data and was the lead author of the manuscript. PW and AH contributed to the analysis process and to the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Additional file 1. figure s1..

Interview schedule. Interview topic guide used in semi-structured interviews. Figure S2. Measures. A description of the diagnostic measures used to establish a diagnosis of panic disorder in trial participants.

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Baker, H.J., Hollywood, A. & Waite, P. Adolescents’ lived experience of panic disorder: an interpretative phenomenological analysis. BMC Psychol 10 , 143 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00849-x

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Cognitive behavioral group therapy for panic disorder in a general clinical setting: a prospective cohort study with 12 to 31-years follow-up

• Truls Bilet 1   na1 ,
• Torbjørn Olsen 1 ,
• John Roger Andersen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6300-9086 2 , 3 &
• Egil W. Martinsen 4 , 5  

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The long-term prognosis after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in outpatient groups for panic disorder and agoraphobia is not well known. The purpose of this study was to assess long-term outcomes in terms of psychological health, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), quality of life (QoL) and treatment satisfaction after CBT for panic disorder and agoraphobia.

The sample consisted of 68 patients (61% response rate), who were assessed at pretreatment; at the start and end of treatment; and after 3 months, after 1 year, and over the long term (M = 24 years; SD = 5.3; range: 12 to 31 years). The main outcome was the total score on the Phobic Avoidance Rating Scale (PARS-total). At long-term follow-up, HRQoL was measured with the RAND-12 questionnaire, and QoL was measured with two questions from the “Study on European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions”. Patient experiences and treatment satisfaction were assessed by the Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire. A marginal longitudinal model was applied to study the main outcome.

The effect size of the long-term change (mean change/ pooled SD) in the PARS-total score was (− 1.6, p  < 0.001) and was stable over time. A PARS-total score reduction of 50% was found in 98% of patients at the long-term follow-up. The patients’ HRQoL and QoL were similar to the expected scores for the general Norwegian population. Of the patients, 95% reported high to very high satisfaction with the CBT, and 93% reported large treatment benefits.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this study has the longest follow-up after group CBT for panic disorder and agoraphobia, showing a good prognosis in ≥93% of the participating patients.

Peer Review reports

Panic disorder and agoraphobia are disabling disorders often associated with impairments in a wide range of life areas [ 1 ]. The first documented treatment for agoraphobia was exposure therapy, and later, the cognitive elements of treatment were developed. The combined form of treatment including both exposure and cognitive therapy was labeled cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is increasingly viewed as the treatment of choice [ 2 ]. Antidepressant medication use is well documented [ 3 ], and there is also empirical evidence for less traditional forms of treatment, such as physical exercise [ 4 ].

Several randomized controlled trials have shown good effects of CBT in the treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia [ 2 , 5 ]. In the majority of these studies, patients were selected with strict exclusion criteria, and therapists received specialized training. Fewer studies have been conducted in the general clinical setting, where patients have been treated by therapists without specialized therapeutic competence. CBT is most often delivered individually, and most scientific studies have addressed individual CBT. Some have found that good results can also be achieved following group CBT [ 6 ], and this format may be more cost effective and feasible in the clinical setting. Nevertheless, the number of studies, especially long-term studies (> 2 years), on CBT in groups is scarce [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Long term outcome following CBT varies across studies. The first studies showed modest results, indicating that these disorders tend to follow a chronic course [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. In two long-term studies with patients following inpatient treatment with emphasis of group therapy, 38 patients (71%) were assessed 20 years after a combination of exposure and psychodynamic therapy [ 13 ], while 31 (67%) were investigated after cognitive and guided mastery therapy [ 14 ]. The long-term outcomes were very good in both samples.

We found no long-term follow-up study of patients treated with group CBT in the general clinical setting. Moreover, a Cochrane review recommended that studies in this field include broader measures of quality of life (QoL) in addition to standard disease-specific outcomes [ 8 ]. Thus, we wanted to address these research needs by extending a prior study ( N  = 83) published in 1998 [ 15 ]. In that study, group CBT was offered to patients with panic disorder belonging to the catchment area of the outpatient clinic of the Central Hospital of Førde in Western Norway, with a rural population of 35,000 people. In general, the patients improved during treatment and maintained those gains at one-year follow-up.

The principal aim of the current study was to investigate the long-term trajectories of outcomes in panic disorder following outpatient CBT in groups in a general clinical setting by extending the 1998 sample and performing a long-term follow-up. The secondary aims were to investigate these patients’ long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and QoL compared to those of the average general Norwegian population and to address patient experiences and treatment satisfaction.

In this prospective naturalistic study, assessments were carried out by personal interviews at pretreatment, at the first and last treatment sessions, and at the 3-month, 1-year, and 12 to 31 years follow-up (mean follow-up time was 24-years; SD 5.3). The wide range of long-term follow-up time points is due to the merging of the sample from the 1998 study and new patients. The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics in Western Norway (REK) and is registered in the REK archive (reference number: 2016/2693) [ 16 ]. Patients were recruited from a regional outpatient clinic serving a catchment area of approximately 35,000 people referred from doctors in primary care or somatic departments. The treatment team received all referrals with a probable diagnosis of panic disorder. Those who met the DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia and did not meet the criteria for psychotic or posttraumatic stress disorders were offered CBT in a group format.

Of the 183 eligible patients who received treatment in the period 1989–2008, we were not able to trace the addresses of 63 patients (34%), while 8 (5%) were deceased. Thus, we invited 112 patients to participate. Of these, 2 (1%) did not want to participate, 9 (5%) wanted to participate but were unable for different reasons, and 32 (17%) did not respond. The final sample consisted of 68 patients, yielding a response rate of 61%, and they met with the therapists at the hospital. The average follow-up time since treatment was 23.8 years (SD, 5.4), ranging from 12 to 31 years. The participant characteristics at the start of treatment are presented in Table  1 .

Treatment program

Treatment was delivered in groups of 6 to 10 participants. The groups met each week for 11 four-hour sessions. The families or significant others were invited to one of the sessions. All group sessions were conducted by the same social worker (TO) assisted by various therapists who were either registered psychiatric nurses or registrars (TB and others). The patients in each group had two lectures on anxiety disorders and their treatment by EWM, who also supervised the therapists weekly. At the pretreatment stage, the patients were given a brief outline of the treatment explaining the rationale for exposure and cognitive restructuring. All patients who met the criteria for major depression during the pretreatment visit were offered antidepressants. Benzodiazepines were tapered and stopped within the first weeks of treatment. Patients were encouraged not to use alcohol while in therapy.

Initial sessions were devoted to psychoeducation with special emphasis on the connections between perceived threat, somatic symptoms of arousal, automatic thoughts, and anxious feelings. The physiological symptoms of sympathetic activation were examined in detail, as were feelings of disaster and catastrophic interpretations of somatic symptoms. The patients were assisted in identifying their own vicious cycles of symptoms, thoughts, and feelings and learned to rate their anxiety on a 0–10 scale. The patients were repeatedly encouraged to use diaries for recording anxiety ratings, noting daily homework assignments, discussing dysfunctional thoughts, and personally monitoring the gains made in therapy [ 17 ].

All participants underwent voluntary hyperventilation early in treatment. Behavioural experiments were used to some extent.

The positive benefits of regular physical activity were emphasized, and the ways in which physical activity influences health in general and anxiety specifically were explained. The patients were encouraged to implement a life-long habit of walking at least 30 min daily or undertaking other physical activities of their choice.

Group sessions consisted of four modules

Review of homework, including anxiety ratings during exposure, and discussion of somatic symptoms, dysfunctional thoughts, and coping strategies.

Planning, performing, and reviewing the present day’s individual in vivo exposure at downtown locations, such as attending public offices, riding the omnibus, shopping, walking the streets, or going to a café.

Review of the progress made during the exposure and recapitulation of cognitive theory.

Assignment of daily homework for the week to come

For the long-term follow-up investigation patients met in groups and were offered sandwiches, tea or coffee. Travel expenses were covered. The Phobic Avoidance Rating Scale (PARS) was scored in individual interviews. The other instruments were self-rating and filled in by the patients while sitting in the group.

The main outcome is based on the Phobic Avoidance Rating Scale (PARS), an observer-rated scale that measures the degree of avoidance. Each item is scored on a 5-point scale where 0 represents no avoidance and 4 indicates total avoidance of the situation in question [ 18 ]. We defined a 50% reduction in the PARS-total score as the primary indicator of a substantial response to treatment. Reduced avoidance of this magnitude is readily recognized as clinically significant by both the patient and therapist.

Level of depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) [ 19 ], the degree of catastrophic interpretations of somatic symptoms by the Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ) [ 20 ], the fear of fear by the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ) [ 20 ] and Agoraphobic Cognitions Scale (ACS) [ 21 ], and the degree of phobic avoidance by the Mobility Inventory for Agoraphobia (MIA) [ 22 ], with subscales for avoidance both alone and accompanied by others.

HRQoL, a multidimensional construct encompassing physical, psychological and social dimensions of health [ 23 ], was measured with the RAND-12 questionnaire, which covers 12 dimensions of functioning and well-being [ 24 ]. The RAND-12 has two summary scores: the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS). To calculate the summary scores, we applied a formula allowing the PCS and MCS to be freely correlated [ 24 ]. Higher PCS and MCS represent better scores. RAND-12 scores from the general population were obtained from the Norwegian Survey on Living Conditions in 2002 ( N  = 5396) [ 25 ].

QoL, a global construct encompassing an overall assessment of well-being or life satisfaction [ 23 ], was assessed by two questions: (1) Life satisfaction: “Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays (where zero is not at all satisfied and 10 is completely satisfied)?” (2) Life meaning: “Overall, to what extent do you feel that the things you do in your life are worthwhile (where zero is not at all worthwhile and 10 is completely worthwhile)?” QoL scores from the general population were obtained from the Norwegian part of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) Survey in 2017 ( N  = 6168) [ 25 ].

Patient experiences and treatment satisfaction were assessed by the Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ), which consists of ten generic core questions that cover the essential dimensions of users’ experiences with a range of specialist health care services [ 26 ]. The ten GS-PEQ item scores are intended to be used as single indicators for each of the ten specific content areas.

HRQoL, QoL and patient experiences were assessed only at long-term follow-up.

Data are presented as frequencies or percentages and as means and standard deviations or 95% confidence intervals. Exact two-sided p -values are reported. Longitudinal marginal models with an unstructured covariance structure were used in analyses of change, with time as a fixed categorical effect. This method handles missing y-data by estimating outcomes based on all available data. The length of time since starting treatment was not correlated with long-term PARS-total scores (r = 0.06, p  = 0.642). Thus, we coded all long-term data (ranging from 12 to 31 years) into one category. The trajectories of the PARS-total score during the first year of follow-up for long-term participants versus non-long-term participants were displayed, and the interaction effect of time*group was tested. Age- and gender-adjusted comparisons of generic health status and QoL between the patient group and the general population were conducted with a one-sample t-test. Effect sizes of changes over time were calculated by using change scores from the longitudinal marginal models divided by the crude pooled standard deviations at the start of treatment and at the last time point. Effect sizes for score differences in the patient group compared to the general population were calculated by using difference scores divided by the standard deviations in the patient group. Effect sizes were interpreted according to the following criteria: trivial (< 0.2), small (0.2 to < 0.5), moderate (0.5 to < 0.8 SD), and large (≥0.8) [ 27 ]. The statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS, version 25.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA).

The PARS score was stable from pretreatment to the start of treatment. The PARS-total score improved during treatment ( p  < 0.001) (Table  2 ). The effect size was large at the end of treatment and remained stable thereafter. A reduction of 50% in the PARS-total score was found in 82% of the patients by the end of treatment and in 98% of patients by the 24-year follow-up. All secondary outcomes also improved over time (Table 2 ; p  < 0.001 for all). The standard deviations for all scores decreased over time, indicating that the response to treatment was general. There were no significant differences between the patients who were assessed at the 24-year follow-up and the other patients in terms of their PARS-total trajectories over time ( p  = 0.647) (Fig.  1 ).

Mean total Phobic Avoidance Rating Scale trajectories over time in patients attending the 24-year follow-up (long-term participants) versus the other patients (non-long-term participants). Pre: pretreatment, Start: start of treatment, End: end of treatment, 3-mo: 3-month follow-up, 1 y: 1-year follow-up, 24 y: mean follow up time = 24-years, range 12–31 years. P -value for time * group interaction = 0.647

The patients’ HRQoL and QoL 24 years after CBT were similar to the expected scores in the general population after adjustment for age and gender (Table  3 ). Details on patient experiences and treatment satisfaction at the 24-year follow-up are presented in Table  4 . The patients had high ratings on all items, with 95% reporting high to very high satisfaction with the CBT and 93% reporting large benefits.

To the best of our knowledge, this study has the longest follow-up after group CBT for panic disorder and agoraphobia. The effect size for clinical treatment was large at the end of treatment and remained stable thereafter. A 50% reduction in the PARS-total score was found in 98% of patients at the long-term follow-up, and 93% of patients were satisfied with the outcomes. The patients’ HRQoL and QoL were similar to the expected scores for the general Norwegian population.

Our results correspond well with previous shorter-term studies on the treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia [ 2 , 4 ]. The few studies reporting long-term outcomes have diverging results, and the explanations for this is not clear. Our results correspond best to the previous studies with longest follow-up [ 13 , 14 ]. An interesting common feature of these studies is the focus on the group format. Our clinical experience indicate that the group fellowship was important for many patients. Systematic exposure treatment and cognitive therapy seem to yield substantial and lasting therapeutic gains, and these results can also be achieved in the general clinical setting. Thus, the good results following individual CBT seem to be achieved by group CBT as well. This format is suitable for training new therapists, who can learn the method by working as co-therapists with more experienced professionals.

The main strength of this study is its length of follow-up. Moreover, the study was conducted in the general clinical setting, had few exclusion criteria and included participants with multiple comorbidities. Thus, the results are generalizable to the general clinical setting. Furthermore, we had a broad set of validated measures encapsulating mental health, HRQoL, QoL, and patient experiences and treatment satisfaction. The study’s main limitations are its observational design, and we do not know the long-term prognosis of the 39% of patients who did not participate in the long-term follow-up. Loss of patients is also observed in other studies with a very long follow-up period [ 13 , 14 ]. Patients may have chosen not to participate in the long-term follow-up because they were doing well and perceived their attendance as unnecessary, because they were doing poorly and did not want further contact, or because they had other reasons unrelated to the study outcomes. However, it is reassuring that the PARS-total trajectories during the first year after treatment were similar in long-term -and other participants. Unfortunately, we have no measure of remission, only of responders. It would also had been nice to have a therapist rating which covered panic/agoraphobia in a broader sense than only avoidance, but these other aspects are covered by self- report instruments.

Our study suggests that CBT in groups is feasible and that the therapeutic gains last for a very long period of time. This finding is good news for a common mental health problem. However, further studies are needed to establish a robust body of evidence on this matter.

Availability of data and materials

The dataset generated during this study is not publicly available, as the patient consent and approval from the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics prevent us from sharing individual patient-level data in public repositories. However, the data are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Abbreviations

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Health-Related Quality of Life

Quality of Life

Phobic Avoidance Rating Scale

Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics in Western Norway

Beck Depression Inventory

Body Sensations Questionnaire

Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire

Agoraphobic Cognitions Scale

Mobility Inventory for Agoraphobia

Physical Component Summary

Mental Component Summary

European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions

Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Karl Ove Hufthammer, (Department of Research and Development, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway) for supporting the statistical analyses. We also thanks Kristen Hagen (OCD-Team, Molde Hospital, Molde, Norway) for providing useful comments on the manuscript.

This work was supported by internal grants from Førde Hospital Trust, Førde, Norway. The funding body paid for the costs of the data collection but had no influence on the design of the study, analysis or interpretation of data.

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Joint first coauthorship: Truls Bilet and Thorbjørn Olsen contributed equally to this paper.

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Division of Psychiatry, District General Hospital of Førde, Førde, Norway

Truls Bilet & Torbjørn Olsen

Centre of Health Research, Førde Hospital Trust, Førde, Norway

John Roger Andersen

Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Førde, Norway

Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Egil W. Martinsen

Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

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TB, TO, JRA, EWM designed the study and drafted, edited and reviewed the manuscript. TB and TO collected and coded the data. JRA conducted the statistical analysis. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to John Roger Andersen .

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Bilet, T., Olsen, T., Andersen, J.R. et al. Cognitive behavioral group therapy for panic disorder in a general clinical setting: a prospective cohort study with 12 to 31-years follow-up. BMC Psychiatry 20 , 259 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02679-w

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• Panic disorder
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• Quality of life
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CASE REPORT article

Case report: an atypical presentation of panic disorder masquerading as possession trance.

• Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

This case report demonstrates an atypical presentation of panic disorder which masqueraded as episodes of possession trance. Patient X is a 62-year-old Chinese female who presented with recurrent episodes of uncontrollable screaming and shaking of all four limbs. During these episodes, she reported auditory hallucinations (Buddhist chanting) and visual hallucinations (a rotting corpse) which she attributed to the influence of “evil spirits.” She was diagnosed with panic disorder with culture-specific symptoms on a background of major depressive disorder. With an understanding of the patient's belief system and an empathetic approach during psychoeducation, she eventually accepted the use of pharmacotherapy. She was prescribed escitalopram (started at 2.5 mg OM) and clobazam (10 mg ON) with good clinical effect and cessation of episodes afterward.

Introduction

Possession trance is a common culture-bound syndrome in Singapore. Owing to phenomenological similarities, possession trance disorders are classified under dissociative identity disorder (DID) in DSM V( 1 – 4 ). It describes a state with an alteration in the level of consciousness, amnesia during the trance, a stereotyped behavior characteristic of a deity, duration of less than an hour, normal behavior in between trances, and fatigue upon termination ( 5 ). Due to their similar presentations, differentiation between possession trances and panic disorders with culture-specific symptoms can be diagnostically challenging. This case report demonstrates an atypical presentation of panic disorder which had masqueraded as episodes of possession trance, highlighting the subtle differences between the two.

Case Presentation

A 62-year-old Chinese female, referred here as patient X, was admitted for recurrent episodes of uncontrollable screaming and shaking of all four limbs.

These episodes began 4 days before admission, occurring two to three times daily. Each episode was abrupt in onset, lasting several minutes to an hour. Onset was characterized by an uncomfortable coldness in the chest spreading outwards to both arms and legs, transforming into a tingling sensation followed by involuntary tremors. Patient X described a lack of control, oscillating between laughing and crying whilst shouting incomprehensibly and flailing her limbs against her surroundings. She experienced fatigue and diaphoresis with no loss of consciousness nor amnesia during these episodes. She had persistent concerns over future episodes, which she described as unbearable.

In the emergency department, patient X suffered an episode and was given intramuscular haloperidol 5 mg with cessation of the episode within minutes. She was able to sit up and apologize, before cooperating with further investigations. After 10 min, she suffered another episode and was given intravenous midazolam 1 mg with the resolution of symptoms within minutes.

Similar episodes had occurred 3 years ago after having undergone a left open radical nephrectomy for xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis. Morphine was administered intra-operatively and tramadol post-operatively for pain control and the neurologist's impression was “episodic hyperkinetic movement disorder possibly secondary to opioids.” Investigations including electroencephalography (EEG) and MRI brain imaging were normal. Tramadol was discontinued and she was started on oral clobazam 10 mg TDS. These episodes ceased after 2 weeks and she was discharged with a tailing regimen of Clobazam. During the same post-operative period, she reported low mood and fleeting suicidal thoughts resulting from her various medical conditions. She was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and started on escitalopram 5 mg ON which was titrated upwards to 10 mg ON during her follow-up appointments. She remained stable on this dose for 2 years before discontinuing her medications.

Patient X had no significant personal or family history of neurological or psychiatric illnesses. Her other medical conditions include essential hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. She had a good relationship with her husband and two children. Her pre-morbid personality was described by her husband as “optimistic and sensitive” and during interviews, she was found to be agreeable with no evidence of having histrionic or borderline personality disorder traits. She underwent formal schooling till the age of thirteen and worked blue-collar jobs before becoming a housewife. She denied smoking, alcohol consumption, and other illicit substances misuse.

On admission, vital signs were normal with no neurological deficit on physical examination. Patient X was neatly dressed with good eye contact and a pleasant disposition. She was euthymic with a reactive affect. Her speech was relevant, coherent, and appropriately paced. There was no evidence of formal thought disorders, hallucinations, or delusions. Investigations were unremarkable: computed tomography scan of her brain, EEG, and blood tests (thyroid function test, electrolytes, renal panel, liver panel, full blood count, folate, and vitamin B12 serum levels).

During her inpatient stay, patient X verbalized new passive suicidal ideations secondary to the distressing nature of these episodes. She denied features of depression and anxiety before admission and a corroborative history from her husband did not reveal any significant psychosocial stressors or depressive/anxious features. With rapport building and exploration of her personal spiritual beliefs, she revealed concerns of “evil spirits.” She opined that her radical nephrectomy operation in 2017 was delayed because “the evil spirits were after me.” She had previously heard the chanting of Buddhist mantras for an entire week following her operation and had also seen a “rotting corpse” on her bed. She believed supernatural forces had caused these episodes, which resolved after taking medications and having received blessings from her religious leaders. During subsequent reviews, she revealed these episodes first began 30 years ago after an abortion and had lasted for a week. While her husband supported her decision, she nonetheless felt guilt and shame, citing financial constraints as the reason for the abortion.

Patient X was diagnosed with panic disorder with culture-specific symptoms on a background of MDD. She was restarted on escitalopram 2.5 mg OM (with plans to increase the dose further at follow-up clinics) and clobazam 10 mg ON and responded well-before being discharged.

The distinction between possession trance and panic disorder is crucial as management is vastly different.

A Singapore study ( 5 ) on trance states showed that trance possessions were precipitated by anger and frustration, which are also known triggers for panic attacks. This is based on the theory that trances embody and convey distress arising from feelings of anger, grief, fear, and vulnerability precipitating from stressful experiences. The treatment of trance possessions targets such issues through counseling and psychotherapy ( 6 – 9 ) exploring underlying stresses and alternative coping strategies. On the contrary, panic disorders are treated with pharmacotherapy and/or psychotherapy. First-line treatment includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants) as recommended by the NICE 2011 guidelines ( 10 ) and a short course of benzodiazepines by the American Psychiatric Association guidelines ( 11 ).

In Singapore, 22% of Chinese psychiatric patients ( 12 ) felt that they were possessed by spirits that had caused them to behave and think abnormally and amongst patients with trance ( 5 ) 40% experienced auditory hallucinations and 32.7% had visions of spirits and shadows. The religious and cultural overlay to psychiatric presentations is not unique to Singapore and has been observed in other parts of the world: Bourguignon ( 13 ) analyzed samples from 488 societies and found that 90% of societies displayed trance and/or possession. Bragazzi NL ( 7 ) also described a clinical case of a Muslim girl reporting possessions and panic attacks in Italy. Djinns are “evil creatures” as described in the Qur'an and in the case study, the 19-year-old Muslim Italo-Tunisian girl reported panic attacks with djinns invading her body and mind soon after she emigrated to a different country. The patient was successfully treated with fluoxetine 20 mg/daily and psychological counseling and psychotherapy.

At first glance, it may seem that patient X's professed religious beliefs and episodes of uncontrollable screaming, shaking of all four limbs, and hallucination are typical of a trance possession, however, a closer examination of her symptoms reveals otherwise.

Each episode was characterized by an abrupt surge of intense fear that reached a peak within minutes and was accompanied by 6 of 13 DSM V criteria ( 2 ) for panic disorder: sweating, trembling and shaking, chest discomfort, chills sensations, paraesthesia in her limbs and fear of losing control. These episodes were recurrent and unexpected with patient X showing a persistent concern of additional attacks. These episodes were not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or another medical or mental condition. While there were no clear traumatic experiences behind her current episodes, her previous abortion and nephrectomy may be potential triggers of deep psychological disturbances that may act as a precipitating factor for her panic attacks. Hecker ( 14 , 15 ) found that pathological spirit possession might be seen as a trauma-related disorder, culturally determined through the interpretation of dissociative symptoms related to traumatic exposure. In a similar parallel, patient X's reporting of supernatural possessions as explanations for her episodes could be a culturally determined phenomenon through her interpretation of her panic disorder symptoms. In the context of her Buddhist beliefs, the hallucinations of a rotting corpse may be interpreted as a symbol of the guilt and shame she experiences over her previous abortions and chanting of Buddhist mantras a corresponding prayer for help. Attending to the patient's phenomenological experiences in future sessions would aid in managing her panic disorder.

In addition, there was no disruption in identity, alteration of consciousness, or gaps in the recall of events, making a diagnosis of possession trance even less likely. The fact that she had a recollection of her idiosyncratic behaviors is in stark contrast with most possession trance episodes, which is usually accompanied by amnesia. Therefore, the uncontrollable screaming, hyperkinetic movements, auditory and visual hallucinations on a background of espoused religious beliefs was a red herring. In the context of her other symptoms, these should instead be interpreted as culture-specific symptoms of a panic attack. Depression with psychotic features is less likely given the absence of depressive symptoms, with the onset of passive suicidal ideations only after panic attacks began. Her Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score of 8 (depressive symptoms absent) also goes against a diagnosis of MDD. Furthermore, the transient nature of each episode (less than an hour) with an immediate return to baseline mental status and retained insight is uncharacteristic of a brief psychotic episode. Her normal EEG findings (during both current and previous admissions) and normal brain imaging findings, make a diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy or other intracranial organic pathologies less likely.

Limitations of this study include a lack of toxicology screen performed (patient and corroborative history from husband suggested no natural herbs/substance misuse and hence it was not performed) and its nature as a case report.

Concluding Remarks

While there has been one other case study describing possessions and panic attacks in a Muslim girl, this is the first case study to our knowledge of a Chinese patient with Buddhist beliefs presenting with an atypical presentation of panic disorder with culture-specific symptoms masquerading as possession trance.

There are race-ethnic differences in the rates of panic disorder, panic attacks, and certain panic attack symptoms ( 16 ) (e.g., White Americans have a higher frequency of heart-racing than Asian Americans) and possible reasons for cross-cultural differences lies in the different meaning and emotional salience of panic attack symptoms within the context of each culture ( 17 ). Therefore, an empathetic and clear understanding of the patient's cultural beliefs would allow the attending psychiatrist to better appreciate the varied presentations of common psychiatric conditions.

In Asian societies, psychiatric patients commonly consult traditional healers rather than western-trained doctors. Seeking spiritual help may help rather than hinder a patient's mental health and various studies have supported this claim ( 18 ). For example, patients with schizophrenia who spent more time in religious activities tended to have a better prognosis at a 2- and 5-year mark in follow-up studies ( 19 , 20 ). van Duijl et al. ( 21 ) found that explanatory models based on spirit possession with traditional healing processes of spirit possessions eventually led to significant improvement for 99% of patients, highlighting the important complementary role traditional healers can play in the provision of local mental health care services. In this case, we acknowledged her plans to seek a religious consult and worked alongside her belief system while counseling on the benefits of complementing her treatment with prescribed pharmacotherapy to aid with the anxiety surrounding each attack. By demonstrating an acceptance of the patient's interpretation of her symptoms, rapport was further built and she was agreeable to re-initiate pharmacotherapy immediately and reconsider psychotherapy at subsequent follow-up appointments.

In summary, this case report highlights the importance of recognizing the patient's cultural beliefs and how they may lead to culture-specific symptoms with unique presentations of common psychiatric conditions. Demonstrating an understanding of the patient's belief system can lead to a therapeutic alliance and increase a patient's compliance with the prescribed management plans.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Ethics Statement

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for their anonymized information to be published in this article.

Author Contributions

HK obtained consent and wrote the manuscript. AG identified the case and supervised the writing of the manuscript. Both authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

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Keywords: Chinese, culture-bound syndrome, panic disorder, possession trance, psychiatry, religion

Citation: Khoe HCH and Gudi A (2022) Case Report: An Atypical Presentation of Panic Disorder Masquerading as Possession Trance. Front. Psychiatry 12:819375. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.819375

Received: 21 November 2021; Accepted: 20 December 2021; Published: 12 January 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Khoe and Gudi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Howard C. H. Khoe, howardkhoe@gmail.com ; orcid.org/0000-0002-8012-4884

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on Panic Disorder: A Case Study

DOI: 10.21276/sjmcr.2018.6.5.7 Abstract: Panic Disorder (PD) is among the types of Anxiety Disorders (AD); it is characterized by the presence of sudden anxiety attacks, followed by physical and affective symptoms, fear of having a new attack and avoidance of events or situations in which panic attacks have occurred. PD affects two to three times more women than it affects men, and may affect up to 3.5% of the world&#39;s population throughout life. The most common treatment modalities used to treat the continuum are the administration of psychotropic medications and the application of behavioral therapy. This particular case details on a female university student who suffered from severe panic attacks for a period of 1 year wherein numerous interventions, including psychotropic medications, had failed to ameliorate her suffering. The patient was treated using the Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic (MAP) protocol. Prior to treatment, the patient reported that she experienced an avera...

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dawit Negassa

Panic Disorder (PD) is among the types of Anxiety Disorders (AD); it is characterized by the presence of sudden anxiety attacks, followed by physical and affective symptoms, fear of having a new attack and avoidance of events or situations in which panic attacks have occurred. PD affects two to three times more women than it affects men, and may affect up to 3.5% of the world's population throughout life. The most common treatment modalities used to treat the continuum are the administration of psychotropic medications and the application of behavioral therapy. This particular case details on a female university student who suffered from severe panic attacks for a period of 1 year wherein numerous interventions, including psychotropic medications, had failed to ameliorate her suffering. The patient was treated using the Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic (MAP) protocol. Prior to treatment, the patient reported that she experienced an average of seven panic attacks per week, her Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score was 58, and her Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was 23. At the completion of treatment, the patient reported that the number of panic attacks was reduced gradually in the following weeks. At 4-week, 6-week, and 16-week follow-up, the patient had not experience any symptoms of panic attacks.

Doug Mennin

ABSTRACT. The present review examined the effect of comorbid major depressive disorder and personality disorder on the outcome of cognitive-behavioral interventions for panic disorder. Panic disorder patients often present with these comorbid conditions, but for the most part, treatment studies have paid little attention to them. Most studies on the effects of comorbidity on treatment outcome address pharmacological treatment.

… Research and Therapy

Michael Telch

The present study examined the efficacy of an 8-wk, cognitive-behavioral group treatment for panic disorder. Patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were randomly assigned to treatment (N = 34) or delayed treatment control (N = 33). The ...

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6 Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia: A Case Illustration with Treatment Decisions Informed by Clinical Science

• Published: February 2013
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Chapter 6 covers the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia, including a case history, assessment and clinical interview, self-reporting and monitoring, treatment approach, session breakdown, key principles and core knowledge, assessment strategy, epidemiological considerations, case formulation, developing the intervention model, dealing with nonspecific, strategies to deal with problems, common mistakes to avoid in treatment, and relapse prevention.

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• v.11(2); 2023 Apr
• PMC10183298

Partial dissociative identity disorder and gender incongruence: a case report

Roland hasler.

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland

TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialities, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland

Jérôme Pache

Sexual Medicine and Sexology Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialities, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland

John Köhl

Lorenzo soldati, introduction.

Gender incongruence (GI) is characterized by a marked and persistent incongruence between an individual’s experienced gender and assigned sex, which often leads to a desire to “transition” and a demand for medical treatments. Dissociative identity disorder and partial dissociative identity disorder (PDID) are poorly known mental disorders whose clinical presentation can be confused with GI.

To provide a case report of a patient with PDID and GI who required treatment for GI.

A case report and follow-up were described.

The case report describes a person suffering from PDID and GI and asked for hormonal treatment for GI. In view of the complexity of the case, it was decided to start a follow-up to investigate the gender experience of the different personalities. After 4 months of follow-up, the symptomatology changed, and the patient waived treatment for GI and continued psychotherapeutic treatment for PDID.

Our case report shows the complexity of providing treatment for patient with PDID and GI.

Gender incongruence (GI) is characterized by a marked and persistent incongruence between an individual’s experienced gender and the assigned sex. This often leads to a desire to “transition” to live and be accepted as a person of the experienced gender through gender-affirming hormonal treatment, gender-affirming surgery, or other health care services to make the individual’s body align—as much as desired and to the extent possible—with the experienced gender. 1 GI prevalence is estimated at 0.02% to 0.1%. 2 The goal of gender-affirming hormonal treatment is to induce changes in secondary sexual characteristics, generally by using estrogen with an androgen-lowering medication or testosterone. Gender-affirming surgery refers to different procedures designed to align a person’s body with one’s gender identity, such as vaginoplasty, phalloplasty breast surgery, and facial surgery. These treatments decrease GI and improve quality of life. 2

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s standards of care indicate that before one starts gender-affirming medical and/or surgical treatment (GAMST), mental health conditions that may explain the apparent GI must be identified and excluded. 2 Some authors emphasize the importance of considering dissociative disorders when making a differential diagnosis of GI, particularly dissociative identity disorder (DID). 3

DID is characterized by disruption of identity in which there are ≥2 distinct personality states associated with marked discontinuities in the sense of self and agency. Each personality state includes its own pattern of experiencing, perceiving, conceiving, and relating to self, the body, and the environment. At least 2 distinct personality states recurrently take executive control of the individual’s consciousness and functioning in interacting with others or with the environment. There are typically episodes of amnesia. 4 Unlike DID, in partial DID (PDID), there are no episodes of amnesia, and generally 1 personality state is dominant and normally functions in daily life but is intruded on by ≥1 nondominant personality states. The nondominant personality states do not recurrently take executive control of the individual’s consciousness and functioning, but there may be occasional and limited episodes in which a distinct personality state assumes executive control. 4 DID prevalence is estimated to be 1% to 3%, and there are no prevalence estimations for PDID. 5 Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice for these syndromes. 5

Our case report describes the assessment and management of a patient with PDID and GI who asked for GAMST. The goal of this article is to inform clinicians working with patients who ask for GAMST of the possible existence of a rare case of DID or PDID and to inform them of the complexity of providing treatment for these patients.

Case report

A 25-year-old healthy single man referred himself to the Sexology Unit for GI with a request for feminizing hormone therapy (FHT). The patient provided written informed consent. He described suffering for 5 months from an identity disturbance characterized by several distinct personalities, with different gender identities (3 males and 4 females) without memory gaps. He explained that 1 of the female personalities, 1 month after discovering his dissociative disorder, could not tolerate the male body, in which she felt incongruent with her female gender identity and wished to undertake FHT to feminize it.

The Dissociative Experience Scale 6 showed a score of 43.21 in December 2021. At the end of the assessment, 2 concurrent diagnoses were retained: PDID and GI. The diagnosis of PDID was retained since the patient described symptoms consistent with DID. However, the diagnosis of DID could not be retained because of the absence of memory gaps. The diagnosis of GI was retained since 1 of the female personalities described symptoms typical of GI.

In view of the complexity of the case, it was decided to start a 6-month psychotherapeutic treatment. In the beginning, treatment focused on offering support and giving information about the effects and potential side effects of GAMST. This was followed by an exploration and a clarification of the experience that the different personalities had of the male body and how they imagined their body experience after the GAMST. Finally, there was an exploration of the function of the personality-splitting mechanism and the possibility that forgotten traumatic events had generated it.

At about 4 months of treatment, the different personalities seemed to have agreed on the project of feminizing the body. Even the male personalities had come to the conclusion that FHT would have brought an overall well-being to all personalities. The therapist also considered proposing FHT following the 6 months of treatment.

But after 4 months of psychotherapy, the patient began to have a vague memory of having been sexually abused as a child. This awareness, despite being vague, had a major impact on the symptomatology and led to a decrease in the intensity of the dissociative symptoms. In July 2022, the Dissociative Experience Scale score was 34.28. In addition, the GI disappeared. The patient gave up his project for FHT, realizing that the feminization of the body could not bring him well-being, as the male personalities would have experienced this negatively. Moreover, he was no longer willing to accept the health risks of FHT and the social difficulties that he might have experienced in making a social transition.

This case report shows the complexity of a mental health assessment following a request for GAMST in patients with PDID or DID.

The scientific literature on this subject is poor; the few articles are usually case reports. 3 A few articles show a prevalence of DID in GI cases ranging from 0% to 1.5%: a rate that is not significantly higher than that of the standard population, which is 1% to 3%. 3 Other case reports highlight 2 problems: the difficulty of making a differential diagnosis between GI and DID and the difficulty of treating people with GI and DID at the same time. 3

Our case can be understood to be at the border of these 2 problems, since the 2 syndromes had coexisted for approximately 12 months. After 6 months of psychotherapy, the decrease of the dissociative symptomatology led to the disappearance of the GI. We therefore concluded that the apparent GI was part of the PDID symptomatology. Our understanding of the change in symptomatology, which was co-constructed with the patient, was that with the recollection of the memories of the abuse, the amnestic function of the personality splitting was no longer needed. As a consequence, this decrease in the need for personality splitting reduced the presence of the different personalities, including the female ones. This made the GI disappear.

Regarding the difficulty of making a differential diagnosis between GI and DID, there are 2 case reports in the literature in which there was a misdiagnosis. These were patients with DID who requested treatment for GI. The diagnosis of GI was made, and an individual treatment plan for GI and care planning was set up. However, 1 of the 2 patients was hospitalized for a depressive reaction with suicidal ideation, and the other was incarcerated following the murder of a woman. Only after hospitalization and incarceration was the diagnosis of GI changed to DID. The authors hypothesized that the depression and murder were related to the tension among the gendered personalities as a result of the misdiagnosis and proposed treatment for GI. 3 Other case reports describe patients who sought treatment for GI, but the diagnosis of DID was withheld; instead of treatment for GI, psychotherapeutic follow-up for DID was offered, which was beneficial. 3

Concerning the difficulty of treating patients who were concerned with the comorbidity between GI and DID, in 1 case report 7 there was a decrease in GI with gender-affirming hormonal treatment; in another 8 the emergence of GI in the other personalities was described following gender-affirming surgery. In the other case reports, tension remained among the personalities of different genders regarding the gender-affirming surgery. 3

Furthermore, as stressed by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, 5 it is difficult to diagnose DID because of a lack of information among clinicians about dissociative disorders. When this happens, the undiagnosed patient with DID may undergo a long and frequently unsuccessful treatment for other conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, panic attacks, substance abuse, and eating-disordered symptoms.

Returning to our case report, in light of what we have learned from these articles in the literature, we can wonder about what would have happened if we had given FHT to this patient without psychotherapeutic treatment. We can speculate that at a certain time, the patient would have eventually had memories of the sexual abuse that led to the disappearance of his GI and asked to stop the FHT. However, we can speculate that experiencing FHT might have reinforced his feeling that it was the right option for him. This could have increased the tension among the different personalities with negative consequences for his mental health. The other personalities could have also developed GI.

Regarding the difficulties in making the differential diagnosis between GI and DID, some authors have stressed that patients with DID may frequently experience bewilderment or confusion in their gender identity and in body sex characteristics. They suggest, however, that these patients describe a global identity disturbance, unlike patients with GI, who focus more on the GI. 9 Further difficulty in the assessment of DID in patients asking for treatments for GI is that GI is usually a self-diagnosis and DID is frequently a delayed diagnosis. Patients with DID frequently hide their symptoms; therefore, these symptoms must actively be looked for. 10

Regarding the appropriateness of offering GAMST to patients with diagnoses of GI and DID, some authors stress that it is highly questionable that these patients should receive GAMST until the DID has been treated. They stress the importance, in the sessions prior to GAMST, of providing psychotherapy for the dissociative symptoms.

Other authors propose that, while not requiring integration of the alter personality before GAMST, at the very least there should be informed consent or a consensus of all the known alter personalities. 11

In our case report, where the patient was diagnosed with PDID, the issue of consent was not as problematic because, in the absence of memory gaps, the different personalities were present or activated at any time. In cases of PDID, with major splits among the different personalities, as well as memory gaps about the behaviors and thoughts of the other personalities, the issue of consent to treatment is more complex. We therefore advise offering psychotherapy to understand the experience of the different personalities in relation to the body and their views on GI care before offering GI treatment.

Mental health providers working with patients with GI should be informed that some patients seeking treatment for GI may have DID or PDID, and they should be aware of the possible comorbidity between the diagnoses. They also need to be aware of the complexity of treating these patients in terms of consent and the iatrogenic effects that GI treatments may have.

One should keep in mind that patients asking for GAMST while experiencing DID or PDID are quite rare, so systematic screening of this syndrome in all patients who have GI is not suitable, in line with the guidelines of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. 2 However, in the presence of any type of dissociative symptoms, it is essential to assess the possible presence of DID or PDID when in contact with patients describing multiple personalities. If this is confirmed, it is advisable to propose an exploratory psychotherapeutic treatment to clarify the body experience of the different personalities as well as their consent to GI treatments.

None declared.

Conflicts of interest: None declared.

Contributor Information

Roland Hasler, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland. TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialities, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland.

Jérôme Pache, Sexual Medicine and Sexology Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialities, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland.

John Köhl, Sexual Medicine and Sexology Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialities, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland.

Lorenzo Soldati, Sexual Medicine and Sexology Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialities, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva 1201, Switzerland.