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8220;Mental illness is a growing problem worldwide. The management of anxiety and depression generally falls to family doctors who may lack time and resources to deliver appropriate psychological treatment to their patients.

8220;So other methods for delivering effective therapy need to be developed,8221; the study8217;s lead author Kerrie Shandley of the University of Swinburne said.

The study found that when panic disorder sufferers used the etherapy programme 8216;Panic Online8217; in conjunction with support from a general practitioner, their panic disorder and panic-related symptoms were reduced with around 30 per cent losing their symptoms altogether.

The researchers followed 96 people with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder who completed the 8216;Panic Online8217; programme over 12 weeks.

Fifty-three of the participants had face-to-face assistance from their GP, who had received specialist training in cognitive behavioural therapy, and 43 had assistance from a clinical psychologist via email.

The participants completed a telephonic interview by a psychologist and a series of online questionnaires to assess panic-related symptoms over the course of the treatment and at a six-month follow-up.

8220;Both groups were shown to significantly improve over time. There8217;re no noticeable differences between participants who had assistance from their GP and those who had assistance from a clinical psychologist,8221; Shandley said.