Treatment of Phobic States with Antidepressants

The treatment of phobic states is one of the most challenging psychiatric problems that face doctors today. Many treatments have been advocated, including intensive psychotherapy (Friedman, 1959), behaviour therapy (Wolpe, 1958; Cooper, Gelder and Marks, 1965) and desensitization under drugs (Yorkston et al. , 1968). None of these treatments has proved to be completely effective, and many patients still remain ill and incapacitated for many years. In the series to be reported here, some patients had been ill for as long as 40 years, despite many types of treatment.