Therapeutic Alteration Techniques: Objectives, Illustrations, and Debates
Spinning Aversion Therapy: A Contentious Approach to Curbing Addiction
Hey there! Ever heard about aversion therapy (AT)? It's a behavior-altering method that links unpleasant experiences with bad habits to discourage them. While it's not the most popular choice, it's frequently used to tackle addictive behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol use disorder (AUD). But, this technique isn't without its fair share of controversy and questions about its effectiveness.
Aversion Therapy: The Basics
AT operates by repeatedly pairing a foul habit with an unpleasant experience to create an aversion. Its ultimate goal? To eliminate or reduce the frequency of that undesirable behavior.
Behaviors AT Can Tackle
You name it — AT might help manage a wide range of habitual activities, like:
- Nail-biting
- Tobacco smoking
- AUD, including alcohol misuse and dependence
- Gambling addiction
Examples of Aversion Therapy
Let's dive into some real-world examples of AT in action:
Emetic Counter Conditioning
This particular type of AT is used to help reduce alcohol cravings for individuals with AUD. During sessions, an individual takes a medication to induce nausea and vomiting before tasting and swallowing various alcoholic beverages. The aim is for drinkers to associate alcohol with the yucky feeling of nausea or vomiting.
Graphic Warning Labels
Warning labels on cigarette packages, mandatory in 118 countries, often feature graphic images of smoking-related health problems, such as diseased lungs and cancerous tumors. These labels are a type of AT because they connect smoking with unpleasant, disturbing images.
Rapid Smoking
Rapid smoking involves puffing on a cigarette every few seconds to trigger a sharp, unpleasant sensation. The goal is to decrease nicotine dependence. However, a 2016 review suggests that rapid smoking is not an effective long-term treatment for quitting smoking.
Rubber Band Aversion Therapy
This form of therapy is used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Wearing a rubber band around the wrist and snapping it every time an obsessive thought surfaces is the idea. The idea is that associating the pain of the rubber band with obsessive thoughts will reduce the frequency of such thoughts over time. Yet, a 2010 review found that rubber band aversion therapy is not an effective therapy for OCD.
Does Aversion Therapy Work?
Some studies report that AT can curb addictive behaviors in the short term. For instance, a small 2017 study suggests that emetic counter conditioning may be an effective treatment for AUD, although long-term success is uncertain. Research into the effectiveness of AT for other addictive behaviors, such as smoking and overeating, is sparse.
Aversion Therapy: The Controversy
Why all the fuss? Some mental health professionals consider AT unethical because it involves using punishment as a means of therapy. Aversion therapy's history is marred with controversy, with conversion therapy being a prime example. This now outdated practice aimed to change a person's sexual orientation — a widely discredited and harmful practice that is still practiced by some mental health practitioners today, according to a 2022 review.
The use of AT as a treatment for addiction-related behaviors remains controversial as well. Some mental health professionals believe that administering an unpleasant stimulus to cause psychological or physical pain or discomfort is ineffective and unethical.
Frequently Asked Questions
The success rate of AT varies for each condition, and there are no reliable success rates available. A 2016 review notes that AT does not seem to be an effective long-term treatment for nicotine addiction or overeating. The side effects of AT depend on the type of therapy used and can include pain, discomfort, nausea, vomiting, fear, anxiety, and discomfort.
While aversion therapy holds some potential in dealing with addiction-related behaviors, it's often seen as an inadequate and potentially damaging approach. Many addiction treatment centers now focus on more comprehensive methods, such as pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapies, which are generally considered more effective and ethical.
- Aversion therapy (AT) is a behavior-altering method often used to tackle addictive behaviors, such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) and gambling addiction.
- Emetic counter conditioning is a form of AT used to reduce alcohol cravings for those with AUD, in which individuals are given a medication to induce nausea and vomiting before tasting alcoholic beverages.
- Graphic warning labels on cigarette packages, promoting health and wellness, are a type of AT as they connect smoking with unpleasant, disturbing images.
- Rapid smoking, puffing on a cigarette every few seconds, is an AT technique used to decrease nicotine dependence, but its effectiveness as a long-term treatment for quitting smoking is limited.
- Rubber band aversion therapy, used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), involves snapping a rubber band around the wrist every time an obsessive thought surfaces, but it has been found to be ineffective as a therapy for OCD.
- Some studies suggest that AT can curb addictive behaviors in the short term, but research on its effectiveness for conditions like smoking and overeating is sparse.
- Aversion therapy is a contentious approach to curbing addiction, with some mental health professionals considering it unethical due to the use of punishment as a means of therapy, and its history being marred with controversy, such as its association with conversion therapy.
