The Outsider's View of a Panic Attack

Evening all

I've been running my own little 'Samaritan' type clinic for a while now, and have become the center of social support for my group of friends. I can tackle most of the basics; depression, social problems and the suchlike, but i've recently been approached by a friend who claims to have had panic attacks. When she tells me what the symptoms are, I'd like to be able to tell her whether they are consistent with panic attacks at all, and how i can help her tackle the problem. I've been reading here about the 7/11 breathing technique, and all these different drugs, none of which I can
prescribe, obviously, so...

Could someone please tell me what the general symptoms of a panic attack are, and whether there are any psychodynamic approaches as opposed to biological or medical approaches that i can use to help her out?

Kind regards

BlueLeaf