Cognitive behavioral treatment of health-related anxiety in youth: A case example

Although illness phobias are fairly common disorders, their treatment has been scarcely addressed in the literature. The current article discusses the treatment of a 9-year-old female diagnosed with health-related anxiety-specifically, a phobia of vomiting. A variety of cognitive-behavioral techniques, such as relaxation training (e.g., deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation), cognitive restructuring, exposure, and parent management training, were utilized in the treatment of this client. Baseline and posttreatment outcome data related to the client's symptomatology and functional status were collected from both the client and her mother. Results suggest that cognitive-behavioral techniques can be quite effective in reducing many of the symptoms and behavioral impairments related to illness phobias in youth.