Aversion Therapy in the Treatment of Trichotillomania: A Case Study

This paper presents a single case study of a patient with compulsive hair- pulling (trichotillomania) of 16 years’ duration, who was successfully treated using electric aversion therapy. All previous attempts at treatment and self- help had been unsuccessful. 

A behavioural self-control programme was tried initially with some success, but the progress was not maintained following an unplanned break in treatment and this treatment was ineffective when re- instated. Electric aversion therapy eliminated hair pulling almost immediately and the results were maintained on follow-up, with the exception of a minor relapse at a time of stress.

Reference: Crawford, David A. ‘Aversion Therapy In The Treatment Of Trichotillomania: A Case Study’. Behavioral Psychology 16.01 (1988): 57. Web.

Aversive Shock Analysis Physical Danger, Emotional Harm, Effectiveness and “Dehumanization”

Four major objections to the use of faradic stimulation are reviewed and re- sponded to. It is concluded that aversive stimulation is no more dangerous physically or emotionally than traditional forms of treatment, that some aversive procedures have provided controlled evidence of effectiveness, and that charges of dehumanization are invalid.

Reference: Tanner, Barry A. ‘Aversive Shock Issues: Physical Danger, Emotional Harm, Effectiveness And “Dehumanization”’. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 4.2 (1973): 113-115. Web.

The Control of Violence & Aggression Through Electric Shock

This study deals with the use of faradic shock administered as a punishment to curb assaultive and violent behaviors in a 31-year-old, hospitalized, chronic schizophrenic female. Three levels of behaviors were chosen for modification: 1) aggressive acts, 2) verbal threats, and 3) accusations of being persecuted and abused. The aversive conditioning approach was employed for each of these levels in a stepwise fashion, with each successive level being included as punishable offenses once effective control over behaviors on the previous level had been demonstrated.The results indicated that a marked reduction in the incidence of the behaviors on all three levels was accomplished by means of this treatment approach. Shortly after instituting the punishment program for accusatory verbalizations, the patient began to show appropriate, socialized behavior, which continued throughout the remainder of the program. Moreover, the patient's weekly behavior rating scores indicated a significant improvement in general functioning over time following the initiation of the aversive therapy program.

Reference: Ludwig, Arnold M. et al. ‘THE CONTROL OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR THROUGH FARADIC SHOCK’. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 148.6 (1969): 624-637. Web.

In 10 Weeks Electrical Aversion Therapy Cured A Chronic Heroin User

A 23-yr-old male graduate student who had been using heroin for 3 yr was treated with electrical aversion conditioning. Treatment was carried out in twenty 20-minute sessions over approximately 10 weeks. The drug taking behavioral sequence was broken into discrete phases which the patient imagined and verbalized. An 8-month follow-up has shown him to be drug free.

Reference: Lubetkin, Barry S., and Steven T. Fishman. ‘Electrical Aversion Therapy With A Chronic Heroin User’. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 5.2 (1974): 193-195. Web.

Aversion Therapy Is More Effective Than Other Common Treatments

Operant (N = 11), aversion (N = 12), and transactional analysis (N = 12) approaches to the development of self control in excessive cigarette smoking were compared with each other and with a no-treatment control group (N = 15). 10 group treatment sessions were administered to Ss assigned to each of the treatment groups. After treatment and a 1-mo follow-up period, the smoking rates of all treatment conditions were significantly lower than the control group (p < .001). No significant treatment, therapist, or interactional differences or indications of symptom substitution were found. (32 ref.) (Psy- cINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Reference: Ober, D. C. ‘Modification Of Smoking Behavior.’. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 32.5, Pt.1 (1968): 543-549. Web.

9 of 20 Nail Biters Quit On Day 1 & 13 of 20 Quit By Day 4

Twenty unpaid volunteers were recruited through advertisements and notices, with a majority being UCLA students. Most participants reported a history of nail-biting since early teen or preteen years, with occasional attempts at self-control and intermittent periods of abstinence. Two devices were used, offering a choice of shock intensity. The aversive stimulation was utilized in the study to achieve suppression.

The chronic nailbiters, instructed to carry a portable shock device, were prompted to use it when placing a finger in the mouth or on the lips, and to discontinue the behavior upon realization. The procedure proved highly effective; in 9 out of 20 cases, no biting was reported from the first day. In 4 other cases, there were no reports of biting after 4 days. Additionally, all visual checks of nails aligned with the subject reports.

Reference: Bucher, Bradley D. ‘A Pocket-Portable Shock Device With Application To Nailbiting’. Behaviour Re- search and Therapy 6.3 (1968): 389-392. Web.

Training Device Takes Chronic Hair Pulling To Near-Zero Levels

The chronic hair pulling of a 36-year-old woman with moderate mental retardation was initially treated with a simplified habit-reversal (SHR) procedure that consisted of awareness training, competing response training, and social support. When SHR did not produce large and sustained reductions in hair pulling, an awareness enhancement device was added, and it reduced hair pulling to near-zero levels in two settings. The results are discussed, and directions for future research with this device are provided.

Reference: Rapp, J T, R G Miltenberger, and E S Long. ‘Augmenting Simplified Habit Reversal With An Awareness Enhancement Device: Preliminary Findings.’. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 31.4 (1998): 665- 668. Web.

An Automated Aversion Device in the Treatment of a Compulsive Handwashing Ritual

A 49-yr-old male with a long history of compulsive handwashing was treat- ed by the implementation of a self control procedure. This turned out to be effective only when a powerful external reinforcer (shock) was added to the procedure to increase the patient’s capacity for initiating self-control. Ritualistic handwashing had virtually ceased after 42 days and remained absent at 12 months’ follow-up.

Reference: Le Boeuf, Alan. ‘An Automated Aversion Device In The Treatment Of A Compulsive Handwashing Ritual’. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 5.3-4 (1974): 267-270. Web.

Faradic Disruption of Obsessive Ideation in the Treatment of Obsessive Neurosis

Faradic disruption of verbal phrases and mental images was used with five chronic obsessive patients in an attempt to reduce obsessive ideation connected with their obsessive fears, doubts and horrific temptations and to reduce or eliminate their compulsive or ritualistic behavior such as handwashing and checking. 

As a result, three of the five patients were vastly improved and one experienced moderate improvement.

Reference: Kenny, F.T., L. Solyom, and C. Solyom. ‘Faradic Disruption Of Obsessive Ideation In The Treatment Of Obsessive Neurosis’. Behavior Therapy 4.3 (1973): 448-457. Web.

Sadistic Fantasies Modified by Aversive Conditioning and Substitution: A Case Study

A case study involving unpleasant electric shocks as the consequence of sadistic fantasies seems to have successfully helped to suppress or extinguish them while incompatible “normal” sex fantasies were strengthened.

Reference: Mees, H. ‘Sadistic Fantasies Modified By Aversive Conditioning And Substitution: A Case Study’. Behaviour Research and Therapy 4.1-2 (1966): 317-320. Web.

Electric Shock Selectively and Retroactively Strengthens Your Memory

In this study, we demonstrate that in humans, information is selectively consolidated when conceptually related data, presumably represented in a shared neural substrate, becomes salient through an emotional learning experience. Specifically, memory for neutral objects showed enhancement when other objects from the same category were paired with a shock. 

These retroactive enhancements resulting from emotional learning were evident after a consolidation period, but not in an immediate memory test or for items that were strongly encoded before fear conditioning.

These findings present novel evidence for a generalized retroactive memory enhancement, wherein inconsequential information can be retroactively recognized as relevant and, consequently, selectively remembered if conceptually related information gains salience in the future.

Reference: Davichi, Lila, and Dunsmoor, Joseph E., and Murty, Vishnu P., and Phelps, Elizabeth A. ‘Emotional learning selectively and retroactively strengthens memories for related events’. Nature (2015). Web.

Shock Treatment: 84.2% of Marijuana Smokers Quit & Their Collective IQ Increases By 6%

Twenty-two chronic marijuana smokers, comprising 16 males and 6 females with a mean age of 29.8 years, participated in a smoking cessation clinical trial. On average, they had been smoking marijuana for 13.7 years and consumed 3.4 marijuana cigarettes daily. The clinical trial involved five consecutive days of 50-minute aversion therapy sessions, utilizing THC-free marijuana with techniques like faradic, rapid smoking, and quick puffing. This was followed by three weekly 60-minute group cohort sessions in self-management counseling, spanning a four-week treatment period.

By the end of the five-day aversion therapy, all 22 subjects reported achieving abstinence. At the conclusion of the clinical trial, 19 out of 21 subjects (90.5%) were still abstinent. Follow-ups at six months and twelve months post-treatment revealed that 15 out of 20 subjects (75.0%) and 16 out of 19 subjects (84.2%), respectively, remained abstinent.

The average number of daily marijuana cigarettes smoked significantly decreased from a baseline of 3.40 to 0 after aversion therapy, .07 at the conclusion of the clinical trial, .26 at six months post-treatment follow-up, and .23 at the twelve-month post-treatment follow-up.

The mean scores on the Shipley Institute of Living Scale were IQ 106 and CQ 92 at pretreatment, increasing to IQ 112 and CQ 104 post-treatment.

Based on these results, the investigators concluded that the treatment procedure shows promise as a marijuana smoking cessation program.

Reference: Davichi, Lila, and Dunsmoor, Joseph E., and Murty, Vishnu P., and Phelps, Elizabeth A. ‘Emotional learning selectively and retroactively strengthens memories for related events’. Nature (2015). Web.