Hauke et al.: Standardized treatment manuals: Does adherence matter? Sensoria: A Journal of Mind, Brain & Culture 1 Standardized treatment manuals: Does adherence matter?

The importance and utility of treatment manuals is con-troversial, especially with respect to how rigidly they should be implemented. This study examined therapist adherence across the course of CBT and how several patient characteristics influence the association between adherence and outcome. Patients diagnosed with panic disorder with agoraphobia (n = 220, 72.7 % female, aver-age age of 34.9 years) were treated in one of two CBT variations: with (T+) and without (T-) explicit therapist-guided exposure. Although adherence did not crucially influence outcome at a global level, results suggest tha