One-Session Treatment of a Specific Phobia of Swallowing Pills A Case Study

• Published in: Clinical case studies Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 399 - 410
• Main Authors: Davis, Thompson E., Reuther, Erin T., Rudy, Brittany M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-12-2013
• Subjects: One-Session Treatment; pills; swallowing; specific phobia
• ISSN: 1534-6501; 1552-3802
• DOI: 10.1177/1534650113497533

This case study presents the treatment of a 23-year-old single White male with a specific phobia of swallowing and choking on pills. He presented for treatment as part of a larger treatment study for specific phobia and met criteria for a specific phobia, other type (swallowing pills), and social phobia. Treatment of the specific phobia involved One-Session Treatment and was conducted per Zlomke and Davis and Davis, Ollendick, and Öst. A posttreatment assessment 3 weeks after treatment and an 8-week follow-up assessment revealed significant improvements. At both assessments following treatment, clinician severity ratings on the Anxiety Disorders Inverview Schedule—Client (ADIS-IV) decreased, indicating no significant impairment, and the ADIS-IVs at those time periods indicated he no longer met criteria for a specific phobia. Improvements were also seen in the client’s self-reported fear, on his ratings of catastrophic cognitions, on a behavioral avoidance task, and in the comorbid social phobia symptoms.