Positive psychotherapy may be similarly effective to traditional cognitive behavioural therapy for panic disorder

1. Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) produced anxiety and well-being outcomes statistically comparable to standard CBT, suggesting it may be a viable alternative for patients who do not respond to or prefer not to pursue traditional exposure-based treatment.

2. Both interventions demonstrated durable, clinically meaningful improvement sustained at three-month follow-up in an online group format

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) 

This randomized controlled trial compared Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) to standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders delivered in an online group format, addressing the need for alternative, patient-tailored treatment options. Investigators randomized 110 adults with panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or social anxiety disorder (per ICD-10 criteria) to ten weeks of manualized group therapy (PPT n=53; CBT n=57), with outcomes assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up using validated measures of anxiety (BAI, PAS, GAD-7, FQ), subjective happiness/quality of life (PPTI, FS, SWLS), and psychological distress (ISR, PHQ-9). Linear mixed models revealed no significant group × time interactions across any outcome, indicating that improvement trajectories did not differ between treatments. Both groups showed statistically significant, medium-to-large effect size improvements in anxiety and distress from pre- to post-treatment, with gains maintained at three-month follow-up. The only significant between-group difference was on the Fear Questionnaire, favoring CBT, though this did not translate to differential change over time. Limitations included a predominantly female sample (97.3%), multiple treating therapists, and 18–21% attrition.

Click here to read this study in PLOS One

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