Treatment of an incest victim with implosive therapy: A case study

A 22-year-old single female victim of incest trauma was treated via implosive therapy during five inpatient therapy sessions. Treatment consisted of repeated exposure through imagery to the incest scene and real or hypothesized thoughts and events related to the incest trauma. Results indicated that, by a follow-up session, behavioral, physiological, and self-report measures were all decreased from previous levels. Moreover, there was a generalization of extinction effect such that self-report and physiological responding to an imaginally presented current life stressor were markedly reduced. Self-monitoring of incest-related thoughts, dreams, and negative heterosexual relations also showed a significant decrease which was maintained at a 6-month follow-up. At a 12-month follow-up, the patient continued to report maintenance of treatment gains with respect to the incest trauma.