TA Treatment of Emetophobia: A Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design Study – ‘Peter’

Colin Kerr

doi:10.29044/v4i2p16

Abstract

This study reports on theapplication of Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design (HSCED) (Elliott 2002) to a 39 session TA-based psychotherapy intervention with a 19 year old white male student in the UK who was suffering from emetophobia. The author, who was also the researcher, provides literature reviews on emetophobia clinical characteristics,contrasts it with other phobias, and reviews prior research including TA-based approaches to phobias generally. HSCED Methodology is briefly described; quantitative outcome measures are obtained and analysed using GAD-7 (Spritzer et al 2006)and SPQ (Elliott et al 1999), and qualitative measures via a rich case record, session recordings/transcripts, and a 4-month follow-up interview. Bohart at al’s (2011) 56 criteria for evidence adjudication were used alongside HSCED criteria. There was strong evidence of significant client changes, and that these changes were the result of the therapy.

Highlights

Phobic disorders are organised into three main categories under Anxiety Disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV TR), namely Social Phobia, Specific Phobia and Agoraphobia (APA 2000)
Emetophobia is classified under Specific Phobia (Other Type)
A number of the studies reviewed suggest that emetophobia be considered in a separate category from specific phobia (Boschen 2007, Vandereycken 2011) in a similar way that social phobia and agoraphobia are

Summary

Introduction

Phobic disorders are organised into three main categories under Anxiety Disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV TR), namely Social Phobia, Specific Phobia and Agoraphobia (APA 2000). Emetophobia is classified under Specific Phobia (Other Type). A number of the studies reviewed suggest that emetophobia be considered in a separate category from specific phobia (Boschen 2007, Vandereycken 2011) in a similar way that social phobia and agoraphobia are. Chronic course, few if any periods of remission, and associated with significant distress and restriction in daily life as well as being considered more difficult to treat, I believe that emetophobia is a condition in urgent need of research (Lipsitz at al 2001, Hunter and Antony 2009)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion