Cognitive behavioral therapy (or CBT for short) is a great treatment for people who want to help themselves get better. It is a type of "talking therapy." It's used to treat many different conditions including depression, anxiety disorder and eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia.

If you have panic disorder, you may be offered cognitive behavioral therapy on its own or with drug treatment. CBT seems to be especially helpful for people who have a condition called agoraphobia along with panic disorder.

When you have CBT you go to see a trained therapist. Each visit lasts for about 50 minutes. You might see the therapist on your own or go to a group meeting with other people who have the same condition. (When you see a therapist with a group of other people, it is called group therapy.)

You and your therapist will work together to try to stop your panic attacks. There are many ways you might do this. You may learn about:

• Tackling your anxiety: If you and your therapist work on this, you will try to figure out what things make you feel anxious. And you will learn how to control your anxious feelings.
• Exposure therapy: This is especially helpful if you have agoraphobia and panic disorder. If you have both panic disorder and agoraphobia you probably avoid going to certain places or doing things that you think might trigger another panic attack.
• Understanding your symptoms: If you work on this with your therapist, you'll learn that the feelings in your body that you thought meant something horrible was about to happen are actually normal. By learning to see these symptoms as a normal response to fear, you can learn to feel less anxious about them.

At the end of the session, your therapist will give you homework. Your homework could be to practice relaxation techniques, keep a diary of your thoughts, or do a simple task. Homework is very important. It means that your treatment is continuing between sessions.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is designed so that you can use it for yourself. You can act as your own therapist whenever your old ways of thinking and doing things come back.

Also, the treatment is tailor-made for you. Most courses last between 12 and 25 weeks. But treatment can go on for longer if you need it.

It's important that you feel comfortable with your therapist. If you are unhappy with him or her for any reason, go back to your doctor. Your doctor will be able to help you find a different therapist.