There are various methods of treatment of agoraphobia. These include:

Medications: Many individuals affected by this disorder are prescribed drugs from the benzodiazepine category such as Xanax. They frequently show some symptom relief with these minor tranquilizers or anxiolytics or antianxiety drugs and some are able to function more effectively. However, the effects are generally much milder when compared with placebo than is generally recognized by patients. These drugs also tend to lose their effectiveness after a number of weeks. The anxiolytic drugs can also have quite undesirable effects such as drowsiness and sedation which lead to impaired cognitive and motor performance. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a patient to develop an increasing tolerance for and persistent dependence on a drug as these drugs have considerable addictive potential. Withdrawal fro these drugs can be slow and difficult and very often precipitates relapse. With panic disorder and agoraphobia, if the withdrawal is not done very gradually i.e. over a period of 2 to 4 months, the client is likely to experience rebound panic which may be worse than the original panic. In addition, many individuals expect too much out of a treatment that merely reduces symptoms without affecting the underlying problem and the masking of their symptoms may discourage them from seeking needed psychotherapy that may have more long lasting effects.

The other category of medication that is useful in the treatment of Agoraphobia is antidepressants including the monoamine oxidase inhibitors, the tricylics and the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. These drugs have both advantages and disadvantages when compared with anxiolytics. One major advantage is that they are not addictive. One disadvantage is that they take several weeks before they have any beneficial effects and so are not useful in the acute situation that a person is having a panic attack or extreme anxiety may come to the doctor with. Troublesome side affects such as dry mouth, blurred vision or interference with sexual arousal can also be a serious problem. Thus, a large number of individuals refuse to take the drug or stop taking it in because of the side affects.

Behavioral and Cognitive-Behavior Treatments:

The original behavior treatment that was developed for Agoraphobia in the early 1970s involved prolonged exposure, often with the help of a therapist or family member to feared situations. Such exposure based treatment proved quite effective, generally helping about 60 percent of agoraphobic patients. But this also left a significant 4- percent without any significant improvements.

Modern techniques involve a new variant on exposure known as interoceptive exposure. Individuals with Agoraphobia are asked to do a variety of exercise such as hyperventilating, shaking their head from side to side, running in a place, holding their breath, ingesting caffeine etc.

Cognitive techniques have been added in recognition of the catastrophic automatic thoughts to at least the maintenance of this condition. They not only target agoraphobics but also those patients suffering from panic attacks These techniques are based on excessive exposure to external situations.