About ADAA > 25 Years: A History > Highlights of the Past
Highlights of the Past 25 Years

During the past 25 years, there have been a number of notable milestones in terms of understanding, education, and treatment of anxiety disorders. These milestones include remarkable scientific discoveries, huge leaps in understanding and awareness, and groundbreaking partnerships and collaborations - all of which improved the world significantly for people who have an anxiety disorder. This timeline provides just a handful of the highlights.

1980: A diverse and inclusive group of clinicians and patients comes together to form the Phobia Society of America (PSA) - the organization that will one day become known as the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). The organization dedicates itself to improving the lives of people who develop irrational, frightening, debilitating levels of anxiety.

1980: The American Psychiatric Association issues version III of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook used to diagnose mental illnesses, and - for the first time in history - defines and differentiates anxiety disorders as specific illnesses that can be diagnosed and treated.

1984: Newsweek publishes a landmark cover story on phobias that calls attention to medical studies confirming a link between abnormal blood flow in the brain and panic attacks. The story catapults phobias to the forefront of the nation's consciousness.

1984: The PSA publishes the first National Phobia Treatment Directory, offering members a list of "phobia" specialists and programs throughout the country.

1986: The organization's Scientific Advisory Board, a volunteer panel of leading scientists who provide strategic counsel and guidance on all scientific issues related to anxiety disorders, is established.

1986: Results of a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) study, the Epidemiologic Catchment Area, reveal that panic disorder is associated with pervasive social and health consequences similar to or greater than those associated with major depression.

1987: The PSA testifies before the US House of Representatives to describe the nature, seriousness and prevalence of anxiety disorders - an event which draws significant national attention. The testimony is later published in the Congressional Record.

1990: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves alprazalam (Xanax), the first drug with an indication for treating panic disorder.

1990: The Phobia Society of America becomes the Anxiety Disorders Association of America and celebrates its name change and tenth anniversary with a gala at the French Embassy in Washington, DC.

1991: The NIMH convenes a panel of scientific and medical experts in a Consensus Development Conference to determine the epidemiology, natural history and course of panic disorder and to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy and medications.

1991: ADAA and NIMH team up and launch the "Panic Disorder Prevention and Public Education Program," a national effort to increase awareness, education and treatment of panic disorder.

1994: The FDA approves the first serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), fluoxetine (Prozac), to treat an anxiety disorder, OCD.

1995: ADAA establishes the Corporate Advisory Council.

1997: An ADAA-funded study finds that the annual cost of anxiety disorders is more than $42 billion. The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

1998: ADAA convenes the first national conference focused on anxiety disorders among children and adolescents, called "Treating Anxiety Disorders in Youth: Current Problems and Future Solutions."

1998: ADAA launches its website, which receives more than 250,000 hits in its first year of operation - a figure that will increase dramatically to nearly 6 million hits a month by 2005.

1998: ADAA partners with NIMH to sponsor the first-ever ADAA Satellite Research Symposium. In 2005, this symposium partnership will expand to include the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).

2000: ADAA and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) receive a prestigious Telly Award for producing a public service announcement that raises awareness of panic disorder and depression.

2001: ADAA and NIMH co-host a press conference to shed light on the new research findings on obsessive-compulsive disorder among children.

2002: ADAA hosts a Conference on Acute Posttraumatic Reactions, the findings of which were subsequently published in Biological Psychiatry.

2002: ADAA establishes the Clinical Advisory Board, a volunteer panel of leading clinicians who provide strategic counsel and guidance on all clinical issues related to anxiety disorders.

2003: ADAA hosts a scientific Conference on New Approaches for Addressing Treatment-Resistant Anxiety Disorders.

2003: ADAA launches its Women's Initiative, a public education program highlighting anxiety disorders among women and convenes the first research conference dedicated to exploring this issue.

2004: ADAA sponsors multiple scientific programs to address the treatment of anxiety disorders in primary care.

2005: ADAA launches its 25th Anniversary activities with a video segment featuring Donny Osmond, shown on all cross-country and international Continental Airlines flights January through April 2005.