AUTHORS: Brannon N and Schuyler DS

JOURNAL: Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2000 August; 2(4): 141–142.

ABSTRACT: No abstract

SUMMARY: This is a case study of a women with anxiety related to several events relating to travelling and dealing with other people which may have contributed to the occurrence of a skin rash. A particular focus is a fear of driving downtown for fear "she would get lost, be in the wrong lane, or drive too slowly". She was treated under the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia. A course of treatment is described over eleven days including diagnosis, general discussion of the approach, challenging dysfunctional beliefs, driving to the next session and discussing other places to drive, making specific plans to drive to new places and anticipating potential problems that might occur and discussing the experiences afterward. After this the participant had driving to new places and reported being much less anxious and feeling more independent.

MY THOUGHTS: Although many people will not have access to this level of one-on-one assistance seems to be beneficial. It would have been nice to have some empirical data but in the end benefit to the person and their lifestyle are more important, and there is no reason to doubt the patients report of significant improvement in mood and driving freedom.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Nice help if you can get it.

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