Short-term symptom change in outpatient psychiatric disorders.

Changes in symptomatology (Hopkins Symptom Checklist scales) during a three- to four-week period were observed in a group of subjects (symptomatic volunteers) who had specific psychiatric disorders (Research Diagnostic Criteria [RDC]) and who were not currently receiving or awaiting treatment. Four of the depressive disorder categories and two of the anxiety disorder categories showed a significant drop in the primary symptomatology. There was a differential effect of diagnosis on the amount of this "spontaneous" symptom reduction; for the HSCL scales depression and panic-phobic anxiety, the RDC disorders with the highest initial levels of those symptoms (major depressive disorder; panic anxiety disorder, combined panic-phobic anxiety disorder) showed the least reduction in that symptomatology.