Case report: Behavioral treatment of clinical abulia

Overemphasis of only conditioning factors in behavior modification may narrow treatment applicability. A case of severe dysphoria and restriction in living, which had resisted conventional psychoand chemo-therapies, is presented. Successful treatment was accomplished by broad-spectrum methods combining social-influence, cognitive restructuring, and specific goal-setting with counter-conditioning procedures. A strategy for intervention in self-perpetuating vicious cycles is exemplified, and non-learning aspects of behavior modification techniques are discussed.