Panic attacks can be extremely unpleasant and can cause intense fear. If you experience these attacks regularly, professionals call it panic disorder. A method to treat the disorder was developed some time ago in Bergen. It runs over four days and is called the Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT).
Previous research has confirmed that this treatment is a good method to quickly help patients with panic disorder. One week after treatment, almost 90% of patients experience a clear improvement.
But what about the long-term effect? New research has good news to report.
“It turns out that the improvement not only persists, but it actually gets stronger over time for many,” said Kristen Hagen, a psychologist and associate professor at NTNU. Hagen is the project manager and senior author of two studies recently published in BMC Psychiatry.
“With long-term follow-up, patients report that they feel even better—than immediately after therapy and at the follow-up three months after,” says Hagen.
“The fact that patients get even better over time is simply remarkable,” he says.
The studies also show that the treatment not only reduces panic disorder symptoms, but also symptoms of general anxiety and depression.
Hagen says that despite the good results of the studies, they need to be confirmed with a larger number of patients.
How the treatment works
Instead of dragging the treatment over many weeks, the B4DT method is carried out intensively over four days in the same week.
Three to six patients meet in groups with a corresponding number of therapists.
The patients receive tailored treatment where they practice seeking out symptoms, situations and situations that can trigger anxiety. The patient has often avoided these situations for a long time.
In this therapy, patients face the difficult in a different and more appropriate way. This gives patients insight into the fact that it is the panic disorder and not real causes that have made them fear situations.
Almost 9 out of 10 patients report great improvement with this method. They have minimal symptoms and function relatively well in everyday life afterward.
The method was developed to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, but has been adapted to treat other mental disorders such as panic disorder.
More information:
Thorstein Olsen Eide et al, The Bergen 4-day Treatment for panic disorder: a longer-term follow-up, BMC Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12888-025-06527-7
Thorstein Olsen Eide et al, The Bergen 4-Day Treatment for panic disorder patients in a rural clinical setting: a long-term follow-up study, BMC Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-06445-0
Citation:
Intensive 4-day therapy for panic disorder linked to lasting symptom relief (2025, May 7)
retrieved 7 May 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-intensive-day-therapy-panic-disorder.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Panic attacks can be extremely unpleasant and can cause intense fear. If you experience these attacks regularly, professionals call it panic disorder. A method to treat the disorder was developed some time ago in Bergen. It runs over four days and is called the Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT). Previous research has confirmed that this treatment is a good method to quickly help patients with panic disorder. One week after treatment, almost 90% of patients experience a clear improvement. But what about the long-term effect? New research has good news to report. “It turns out that the improvement not only persists, but it actually gets stronger over time for many,” said Kristen Hagen, a psychologist and associate professor at NTNU. Hagen is the project manager and senior author of two studies recently published in BMC Psychiatry. “With long-term follow-up, patients report that they feel even better—than immediately after therapy and at the follow-up three months after,” says Hagen. “The fact that patients get even better over time is simply remarkable,” he says. The studies also show that the treatment not only reduces panic disorder symptoms, but also symptoms of general anxiety and depression. Hagen says that despite the good results of the studies, they need to be confirmed with a larger number of patients. Instead of dragging the treatment over many weeks, the B4DT method is carried out intensively over four days in the same week. Three to six patients meet in groups with a corresponding number of therapists. The patients receive tailored treatment where they practice seeking out symptoms, situations and situations that can trigger anxiety. The patient has often avoided these situations for a long time. In this therapy, patients face the difficult in a different and more appropriate way. This gives patients insight into the fact that it is the panic disorder and not real causes that have made them fear situations. Almost 9 out of 10 patients report great improvement with this method. They have minimal symptoms and function relatively well in everyday life afterward. The method was developed to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, but has been adapted to treat other mental disorders such as panic disorder. More information: Thorstein Olsen Eide et al, The Bergen 4-Day Treatment for panic disorder patients in a rural clinical setting: a long-term follow-up study, BMC Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-06445-0 Citation: This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
How the treatment works
Thorstein Olsen Eide et al, The Bergen 4-day Treatment for panic disorder: a longer-term follow-up, BMC Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12888-025-06527-7
Intensive 4-day therapy for panic disorder linked to lasting symptom relief (2025, May 7)
retrieved 7 May 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-intensive-day-therapy-panic-disorder.html
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
