Behavioral treatment of phobic avoidance in multiple chemical sensitivity

The clinical ecology model of environmental illness, or multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), and particularly the theoretical assumptions, diagnostic procedures, and therapeutic recommendations promulgated by clinical ecologists are reviewed. No scientific evidence is found for their claims. MCS is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry 1994-09, Vol.25 (3), p.197-209
Main Authors: Sergio Guglielmi, R., Cox, Daniel J., Spyker, Daniel A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Air Pollutants, Occupational - adverse effects
Allergies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Avoidance behaviour
Avoidance Learning
Behavior Therapy - methods
Behaviour therapy
Biofeedback, Psychology - methods
Biological and medical sciences
Cognitive Therapy - methods
Combined Modality Therapy
Desensitization, Psychologic - methods
Female
Humans
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - psychology
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - therapy
Occupational Diseases - psychology
Occupational Diseases - therapy
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Patients
Phobia
Phobic Disorders - psychology
Phobic Disorders - therapy
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
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Summary:The clinical ecology model of environmental illness, or multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), and particularly the theoretical assumptions, diagnostic procedures, and therapeutic recommendations promulgated by clinical ecologists are reviewed. No scientific evidence is found for their claims. MCS is conceptualized, instead, as a phobic disorder explicable in terms of the two-factor model of avoidance. Three cases of MCS are discussed in light of this model, and a comprehensive behavioral treatment package that includes biofeedback-assisted in vivo desensitization and cognitive restructuring is proposed.
ISSN:0005-7916
1873-7943
DOI:10.1016/0005-7916(94)90020-5