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On my psych rotation now so maybe I can add a little something. The situation you described does sound very much like agorophobia. It's particularly interesting that she does better when other people are with her. This is often the case with agorophobia, as patient are afraid not so much of being in public, as they are of being in a situation where they can't get help.
Did she have panic attacks outside of the agorophobia? You intiial post implies she had some episodes, and then these subsequently made her afraid to go out of the house, but it isn't quite clear. Generally agorophobia with panic disorder is associated with a better prognosis than without.
First line treatment, as with most of the anxiety disorders, is with SSRI's. As mentioned in some of the above posts, cognitive-behavioral therapy can also be effective, and likely a combination of the meds and the therapy will do the most good. How long she would need to be on the meds depends on a number of things, including the seriousness or her condition, the effectiveness of any therapy, and other comorbid contitions. Generally though, the SSRI's are the safest and most easily tolerated psychiatric medications around.
I would probably skip the primary care doctor altogether and go straight to a psychiatrist here. They would probably be more comfortable managing the med doses, which can be different than the doses given for depression, and also could set her up with the appropriate therapy that she needed.
Also, for the person who asked, almost all anxiety disorders, including panic disorder and agorophobia, are more common in women. However, they are still very common in men as well. As a group the anxiety disorders are the most common group of psychiatric disorders.
Did she have panic attacks outside of the agorophobia? You intiial post implies she had some episodes, and then these subsequently made her afraid to go out of the house, but it isn't quite clear. Generally agorophobia with panic disorder is associated with a better prognosis than without.
First line treatment, as with most of the anxiety disorders, is with SSRI's. As mentioned in some of the above posts, cognitive-behavioral therapy can also be effective, and likely a combination of the meds and the therapy will do the most good. How long she would need to be on the meds depends on a number of things, including the seriousness or her condition, the effectiveness of any therapy, and other comorbid contitions. Generally though, the SSRI's are the safest and most easily tolerated psychiatric medications around.
I would probably skip the primary care doctor altogether and go straight to a psychiatrist here. They would probably be more comfortable managing the med doses, which can be different than the doses given for depression, and also could set her up with the appropriate therapy that she needed.
Also, for the person who asked, almost all anxiety disorders, including panic disorder and agorophobia, are more common in women. However, they are still very common in men as well. As a group the anxiety disorders are the most common group of psychiatric disorders.
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