Treatment of a Case of School Phobia by Reciprocal Inhibition

Behaviour therapy by reciprocal inhibition was undertaken on a moderately severe case of school phobia in an 11-year-old boy after an adequate trial of conventional therapy had failed to bring about lasting improvement. A fairly accurate estimate of expended therapy time follows:

First admission to day-school (January 1964):

Five initial sessions (30 minutes each) of relaxation by hypnosis.

Eighteen sessions (20–30 minutes each) of reciprocal inhibition therapy, presenting an average of four hierarchies per session.

Second admission to day-school (September 1964):

Fifteen sessions (20–30 minutes each) of reciprocal inhibition therapy, presenting an average of seven hierarchies per session.

This form of therapy was undertaken as a learning experience by the author and its very good results are in no way meant to imply that one approach is superior to another. Rather, this paper was prepared as a plea for tolerance on the part of all who concern themselves with the treatment of emotionally disturbed persons.