Desensitization for a Severe Phobia of a Fourteen-Year Old Male

Abstract

After an intense panic attack at school this 14-year-old male became virtually housebound and did not attend school for five months prior to therapy. Treatment, consisting of self-monitoring, relaxation, thought stopping imaginal desensitization, and "in vivo" exposure, ended after 10 weakly sessions when the boy returned to school. At 18 months follow up, school records showed nearly perfect attendance and improved grades to a "B+" from a pretherapy "C" average. MMPI changes from pretherapy to 12 months post-therapy andan interview at 12 months follow-up showed additional improvements in overall personality adjustment and social behavior. Results illustrate hypotheses about choice of treatment methods proposed in a recent review of densensitization with children.