| | CASE STUDY #9 Patient is 37 year old Caucasian female, referred for evaluation and
management of depression and anxiety. Initial psychological evaluation
revealed the following diagnoses: Major Depression, moderate, and Social
Phobia. Currently treated pharmacologically with Zoloft, which provided
mild improvement in depressive symptoms only.
Following 3 weeks of initial training in relaxation and stress
management techniques, the patient was assessed for baseline measures
for various targeted phobic reactions, using the Systematic Units of
Discomfort scale (SUDs) (0 = no discomfort; 100 = severe discomfort). She
was then instructed in the use of the BAUD, using her highest level of
targeted discomfort (public speaking; SUDs = 95). She was able to achieve
a change in anxiety discomfort during the introductory session.
The BAUD was sent home for continued use, with instructions to utilize
it for all areas causing discomfort. After 3 weeks of home use, she
reported significant decreases in SUDs ratings across all target areas.
(See chart below for Pretreatment/Posttreatment SUDs ratings)
- Public Speaking: 95/70
- Meeting new people in groups: 90/50
- Crowds: 85/60
- Traffic 85/65
- Dogs barking: 80/60
- Work projects: 70/60
- Messy house: 70/55
- Home projects: 65/60
- Talking to people one-on-one: 65/50
At follow-up, she was taken through an imagery exercise involving public
speaking that is often required for her work. She was able to go through
the entire imagery exercise, with her highest SUDs rating only reaching
65.
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