Iatrogenic Phobic Disorders in Methadone Maintenance Treated Patients

Abstract

A detoxification phobia idiosyncratic to methadone maintenance programs is described and several representative cases are presented. Reliability of diagnostic criteria for the phobia are described and their overall reliability was 93% while occurrence reliability was 67%, which investigators conclude is a moderate but clinically useful level. Prevalence data show the phobia occurring in 27% of a random sample of patients treated with methadone maintenance, an estimate the investigators feel is too high to be representative of typical methadone programs. Implications for treatment are discussed.