Simple techniques to treat medical phobias.

Simple techniques to treat medical phobias.

Participant modelling, a behaviourally-orientated treatment technique, is an effect method of treating phobias associated with minor medical procedures or apparatus such as needles or intravenous catheters. The steps in this technique are described and two cases of severe needle phobias successfully treated with participant modelling are presented to illustrate further its application.

Eye movement desensitization of medical phobias: two case studies.

We treated two medical phobic subjects with eye movement desensitization (EMD). Using detailed images of fear-related events, the treatment design conformed to an additive, within-series phase change to examine enduring effects. Results indicated that both subjects' verbal reports of fear decreased substantially using the EMD procedure. There were no consistent changes in heart rate. Similarly,...

Phobias

Prisoners' insomnia: to treat or not to treat? Medical decision-making in places of detention.

Insomnia is a frequent reason for medical and psychiatric consultation in prisons. Medical decision-making in correctional health care should be based on the same principles as outside correctional institutions. In places of detention, principles should be balanced according to the same criteria as outside correctional institutions, while taking into account the unique harm-benefit ratios relat...

Treat-to-target: not as simple as it appears.

Treat-to-target as a strategy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is now widely advocated based on strong evidence. Nonetheless, implementation of treat-to-target raises caveats, as is the case with all clinical care strategies. The target of remission or even low disease activity does not apply to all individual patients, some of whom are affected by concomitant fibromyalgia, other comorbidities, jo...