David Barlow

Panic Control Treatment is a cognitive behavioral treatment for panic disorder. It combines education, cognitive work, breathing-related exercises, and exposure to feared bodily sensations such as dizziness or a racing heart.

Interoceptive exposure deliberately produces safe physical sensations that a patient fears, such as breathlessness or lightheadedness. Repeated practice helps weaken catastrophic interpretations of those sensations.

The Unified Protocol is a transdiagnostic treatment designed for emotional disorders rather than a single diagnosis. It targets shared processes such as avoidance, distress about emotions, and rigid responses across anxiety and mood problems.

Barlow founded the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. The center became known for research and clinical treatment involving panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and related conditions.