An unusual case of a wasp phobic.

Full Abstract

This study concerns a woman with a very specific phobia of free-flying wasps. Her underlying and disabling belief was that she was allergic to wasp venom and, if stung, would certainly die. A behavioural approach, such as systematic desensitization and exposure, was not thought suitable because of the patient's pattern of fear. Instead, the treatment of choice was an allergy test to directly challenge her belief. The allergy test was negative and led to a dramatic improvement which was maintained 1 year after treatment.

Author information

Author/s: Brown, June S L (JS); Abrahams, Sharon (S); Helbert, Matthew (M);

Affiliation: Psychology Department, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. june.brown(-atsign-)iop.kcl.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Case Reports; Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry (J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2003 Sep-Dec; vol 34 (issue 3-4) : pp 219-24

Dates: Created 2004/02/19; Completed 2004/06/14; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 14972669, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

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