Panic Disorder Therapy Online
Your heart pounds, your chest tightens, and you’re sure something terrible is happening. Panic attacks are frightening, but panic disorder is one of the most treatable anxiety conditions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for panic helps most people significantly reduce or stop their attacks, often without medication. Our clinicians offer it by secure video in 44 states.
What Is Panic Disorder?
A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear that peaks within minutes, with physical symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, or sweating. Panic disorder is diagnosed when attacks come unexpectedly and repeatedly, and you spend at least a month worrying about more attacks or changing your life to avoid them.
Some people also develop agoraphobia, avoiding places where escape or help might feel hard to reach, such as stores, highways, or crowds.
Why Panic Attacks Keep Coming Back
Panic disorder is driven by a cycle:
- You notice a normal body sensation, such as a faster heartbeat.
- You interpret it as dangerous (“I’m having a heart attack,” “I’m going to faint”).
- Fear triggers more physical symptoms, which seem to confirm the danger.
- You avoid situations and rely on “safety behaviors,” like sitting near exits or never going out alone.
Avoidance and safety behaviors feel protective, but they keep your brain from learning that the sensations are uncomfortable, not dangerous.
CBT for Panic Disorder, Step by Step
CBT for panic is a structured, short-term, first-line treatment recommended by the American Psychiatric Association and the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It usually takes about 10 to 15 sessions and includes:
- Education. You learn what panic is and why it isn’t dangerous.
- Cognitive restructuring. You examine catastrophic interpretations and replace them with accurate ones.
- Interoceptive exposure. You deliberately bring on panic-like sensations in a controlled way until they stop being scary.
- Situational exposure. You gradually return to places and activities you’ve been avoiding.
- Dropping safety behaviors, so you learn you can cope without them.
- Relapse prevention, so you know what to do if panic ever returns.
What Is Interoceptive Exposure?
With your clinician’s guidance, you practice exercises that safely produce the sensations you fear, such as:
- Spinning in a chair to feel dizzy
- Breathing through a thin straw to feel short of breath
- Running in place to raise your heart rate
Repeating them teaches your brain that these sensations are harmless, so the fear of the sensations, the engine of panic disorder, fades.
Panic and Agoraphobia
When panic leads to avoiding places or travel, treatment adds gradual, planned practice in those situations. Your clinician can support you by video while you practice at home, in your car, or in your neighborhood.
Online Therapy for Panic
Research shows CBT by video can be broadly comparable to in-person CBT for panic, and starting from home helps if panic has made leaving the house hard. Learn how our teletherapy works.
You may also find these articles helpful: what causes anxiety and panic attacks, what causes panic attacks at night, and how to calm yourself during an anxiety attack. For other anxiety concerns, see our anxiety therapy page.
Common Panic Symptoms
During a panic attack, people often notice several of these:
- Pounding or racing heart, or chest tightness
- Shortness of breath or a feeling of choking
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling faint
- Sweating, chills, trembling, or shaking
- Nausea or stomach distress
- Numbness or tingling
- Feeling detached from yourself or your surroundings
- Fear of losing control, “going crazy,” or dying
These sensations come from the body’s normal fight-or-flight response, turned up very high at the wrong time.
Panic Attacks vs. Panic Disorder vs. Heart Problems
| Panic attack | Panic disorder | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A sudden wave of intense fear and physical symptoms | Repeated, unexpected attacks plus ongoing worry about them |
| How common | Many people have one at some point | A smaller group who need treatment |
| Treatment | Often none needed | CBT for panic is first-line |
Panic symptoms can resemble heart or breathing problems. If you’ve never had a medical evaluation, or your symptoms change, see your doctor first. Once medical causes are ruled out, repeated emergency visits for the same symptoms often signal that panic is driving the cycle.
A Typical Course of Treatment
- Weeks 1–2: Learning about panic, tracking attacks, and mapping your personal cycle
- Weeks 3–5: Cognitive work on catastrophic thoughts, and starting interoceptive exposure
- Weeks 6–10: Gradually returning to avoided places and dropping safety behaviors
- Final sessions: Building a relapse-prevention plan
How Loved Ones Can Help
Family members help most by staying calm during an attack, not rescuing you from feared situations, and encouraging practice instead of avoidance.
Insurance Coverage
We’re in-network with Aetna, Optum and UnitedHealthcare, Oscar (through the UnitedHealthcare network), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ambetter (in Washington only), and others. Depending on the clinician and state, some of our clinicians also accept Anthem.
We do not accept Medicare or Medicare Advantage plans.
Psychological Healing has 40 clinicians, offering in-person sessions in 20 states and video sessions in 44 states.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can panic disorder be treated without medication? Yes. CBT alone is a first-line treatment, and many people become panic-free without medication.
How long does CBT for panic disorder take? About 10 to 15 weekly sessions, and many people notice improvement within the first few weeks.
What is the fastest way to stop panic attacks? In the moment, slow your breathing and let the wave pass without fighting it. For lasting change, CBT with interoceptive exposure is the most effective approach.
Is panic disorder treatment covered by insurance? Usually, yes, as outpatient psychotherapy. We’ll check your benefits before you start.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.
Clinically reviewed by Karan Singh, Ph.D.
Last reviewed October 16, 2026