FLOODING WITH BREVITAL IN THE TREATMENT OF AGORAPHOBIA - COUNTER-EFFECTIVE

Twenty-seven agoraphobic outpatients received eight sessions of flooding in fantasy with anxiety, flooding in fantasy with intravenous Brevital, or an attention-control procedure. Results on subjective rating scales provide some support for the hypothesis that agoraphobic clients benefit more from experiencing anxiety during flooding. No significant differences were found on a behavioral task. These results differ from previous findings where diazepam (Valium) was found to have no effect on outcome or to enhance improvement in agoraphobics. The discrepancy may be due to differences in the procedure. © 1979.