Treatment method employing negative stimuli to suppress unwanted behaviors or desires; instances such as electric shock therapy for smoking cessation, and its debated ethics and effectiveness.
Dampening Down the Desire:
Aversion therapy (AT) is a method that links unwanted behaviors, such as those connected to substance use, with discomforting experiences in an attempt to suppress the undesirable action. Some refer to it as "aversive conditioning" or "deterrent therapy."
People often encounter AT as a treatment for habits associated with addiction, like smoking or alcohol use. However, it's less popular than other substance use disorder treatments.
AT has a troubled past, sparking ethical debates among mental health professionals. Questions persist about its long-term effectiveness as a treatment for addictive behaviors.
What's the motive behind aversion therapy?
AT functions by repeatedly connecting an undesirable behavior or habit with an unpleasant experience to establish an unpleasant association. The goal is to deter or eradicate the undesirable behavior or habit.
Which behaviors might aversion therapy target?
Examples of behaviors AT could potentially affect include:
- Nail-biting
- Tobacco smoking
- Alcohol use disorders (AUD), including alcohol misuse and addiction
- Gambling addiction
Samples of aversion therapy
Take a peek at some examples of AT.
Emetic counter conditioning
Emetic counter conditioning (ECC) is an AT technique that might lessen alcohol cravings in people struggling with AUD. Over several ECC sessions, a person takes a medication to induce nausea and vomiting. During the sessions, they taste and ingest various alcoholic beverages. The aim is for the individual to associate drinking alcohol with the unpleasant sensations of nausea or vomiting.
Graphic warning labels
Graphic warning labels on cigarette packages, required in 118 nations, feature pictures of the potential health consequences of smoking, such as damaged lungs and cancerous growths. These serve as a form of AT as they pair the act of smoking with the unwelcome experience of viewing disturbing or upsetting images.
Rapid smoking
Rapid smoking involves fast puffing on a cigarette every few seconds to stimulate uncomfortable sensations that make smoking unbearable. The objective is to decrease nicotine addiction.
According to a 2016 review, rapid smoking is not an effective long-term treatment for those who wish to quit smoking.
Rubber band aversion therapy
Rubber band aversion therapy (RBAT) is a method used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). RBAT involves wearing a rubber band around one's wrist and snapping the band whenever an obsessive thought arises.
The concept is that by repeatedly connecting the pain from the rubber band with obsessive thoughts, the person will learn to associate obsessive thoughts with physical pain and thereby experience fewer obsessive thoughts. However, according to a 2010 review, RBAT is not an effective therapy for OCD.
Does aversion therapy work?
Studies suggest that AT can decrease addictive behaviors in the short term.
In a 2017 study, researchers explored the effects of emetic counter conditioning (ECC) on alcohol-related brain activity in 13 people with AUD. During five sessions, participants took an emetic medication and consumed alcoholic beverages.
The participants reported alcohol aversion or avoidance at 30 and 90 days after treatment, and 69% of participants reported that they were still abstinent 12 months later.
Brain scans before and after the treatment revealed significant reductions in craving-related brain activity. The findings imply that ECC may be a viable treatment for AUD, although more research is needed to determine whether these effects persist long-term.
Research into the effectiveness of AT as a treatment for other addictive behaviors is scarce.
A review of several studies investigated the effects of rapid smoking on smoking cessation. While some of the studies reported temporary success, the treatment lost its effectiveness over the long term.
The same review notes that, as a part of treatment for obesity, AT can temporarily reduce the desire for certain foods but that the effects are not long-lasting.
Why is aversion therapy contentious?
Some mental health professionals believe that AT is unethical because it employs punishment as a means of therapy.
AT has a long history of controversy. "Conversion therapy" is a form of AT that mental health professionals previously used to "treat" homosexuality, listed as a mental health disorder until 1973. Some doctors believed that conversion therapy could alter a person's sexual orientation.
Many people were coerced into conversion therapy against their will, while others voluntarily participated out of shame, guilt, or social pressure.
A 2022 review states that some mental health practitioners still engage in so-called conversion therapy today. The authors advocate for the practice to be outlawed in all U.S. states.
The use of AT as a treatment for addiction-related behaviors is also contentious. Some mental health professionals consider the treatment unethical because it involves administering an unpleasant stimulus that may cause psychological or physical pain or discomfort.
- Aversion therapy (AT) is a psychotherapy technique that aims to deter or eradicate unwanted behaviors by associating them with unpleasant experiences.
- Some examples of behaviors that AT could potentially target include alcohol use disorders, gambling addiction, and nail-biting.
- Emetic counter conditioning (ECC), an AT technique, aims to lessen alcohol cravings in people with alcohol use disorders by causing nausea and vomiting in response to drinking alcohol.
- However, the long-term effectiveness of aversion therapy as a treatment for addictive behaviors is still a matter of debate, and some mental health professionals consider it unethical due to the use of punishment as a means of therapy.
