Therapeutic failure in a case of aversion therapy

A problem of paramount importance in the application of behaviour therapy concerns the relationship between personality parameters and the therapeutic outcome of such therapy, particularly in the case of aversion therapy. This report is concerned with a comparison between two patients with similar psychometric scores and similar complaints, one of whom responded well to aversion therapy while the other withdrew from treatment. It is argued that this differential response to treatment was due not to the amount of anxiety present but rather to a specific fear in the case of the latter patient that the treatment itself would precipitate cancer. Precautionary enquiries along these lines should, in future, be carried out prior to embarking on an aversion therapy programme.