AbstractsPsychology

This translational research piece involved collaborating with a local community mental health agency to examine knowledge, skills, attitudes, practices, and outcomes for panic disorder treatments. The project included designing and administering an online survey to client care personnel including psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychiatrists. Additionally, a database review was utilized to obtain information about treatment modalities, duration, and outcomes. Survey results were analyzed using goodness of fit statistics to show differences between attitudes of participants by discipline regarding the safety and effectiveness of panic disorder treatments. The database analysis of pre and post GAF scores revealed comparable outcomes for therapy alone and therapy and medication treatment groups. Additionally, clients receiving therapy and medication for panic disorder were shown to have had significantly longer treatment duration on average than those in therapy only. These findings were discussed in terms of existing literature on panic disorder treatment and organizational change to make recommendations for the participating agency and others like it.