EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION IN THE TREATMENT OF GILLES-DE-LA-TOURETTES SYNDROME - 4 CASE-STUDIES

The present article describes a new treatment method for Gibes de la T ourette's Syndrome, consisting of 10 2-hour sessions of exposure and r esponse prevention. This method is based on the notion expounded by Bl iss (1980) that patients with this syndrome often produce the ties vol untarily in order to rid themselves of unpleasant sensations. The hypo thesis was that, if the patient was aware of premonitory sensations, i t should be possible to intervene at the level of these sensations; by preventing the ties, the patient might habituate to the sensations. A s a result, it was hypothesized, the urge to produce the movements and sounds would eventually diminish, leading to an extinction of the mot or and vocal ties. This article discusses four Gilles de Ia Tourette p atients for whom this method of exposure and response prevention was r easonably effective. Within-session habituation to the premonitory sen sations took place in three of the four patients. (C) 1997 by John Wil ey & Sons, Ltd.