Cognitive therapy for vomit phobia: a case report

The specific phobia of vomiting (also known as emetophobia) is an under-researched area. We present a case report of cognitive therapy treatment for vomit phobia in order to demonstrate the successful implementation of the cognitive techniques proposed by the cognitive models of vomit phobia. The client was a Japanese female living in the UK whose vomit phobia remained after treatment for panic disorder and comorbid depression. The case formulation suggested that the manner in which her fear escalated was similar to the cognitive model of panic disorder. The therapy involved case formulation, attention training, opinion survey and behavioural experiments. These techniques allowed the client to stop her safety-seeking behaviours and adjust her beliefs about vomiting.