For people living with panic disorder, fear can extend beyond an attack itself. Worry about the next episode can change everyday behaviour. Getting treatment should not become another obstacle.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, is an established treatment for panic disorder and agoraphobia. But the time and cost involved in delivering therapy can limit access. Digital programmes offer another way to bring that care to people.

What the research shows

The screen is a delivery tool. The treatment behind it is what deserves attention.

A review published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine in 2025 examined 31 studies of digital CBT for panic disorder and agoraphobia. These programmes used formats such as online platforms, mobile technology and virtual reality.

Overall, digital CBT performed better than passive controls, such as waiting lists. The pooled difference compared with traditional CBT was close to zero. That is encouraging, but it does not mean every app works as well as face-to-face therapy.

More than an app

The review suggests that the content of treatment matters. Programmes that included interoceptive exposure—working with bodily sensations that provoke fear—were associated with better clinical outcomes.

Another approach, called inhibitory learning, focuses on learning that anxiety can be tolerated and that feared outcomes are less likely than expected. The aim is not simply to make every uncomfortable feeling disappear immediately.

Personalised content and therapist guidance were also associated with stronger effects when programmes were compared with passive controls. Digital care, in other words, need not mean facing treatment alone.

Promise, with perspective

The findings come with limits. Results varied across studies, and many were vulnerable to bias related to therapists or participants dropping out. Although the review appeared in 2025, its database search was conducted in August 2022.

The clearest message is not that technology has replaced therapy. It is that established therapeutic methods can be delivered in different ways—and that careful programme design and appropriate support remain important.

For panic disorder care, the screen is a delivery tool. The treatment behind it is what deserves attention.

Reference: Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: A Meta-Analytic Review of Clinical Components to Maximize Efficacy — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11900950/