What is Aversion Therapy

Aversion therapy is a type of behaviour therapy which aims to reduce or eliminate an undesirable behaviour. This can be achieved by associating the undesirable behaviour with unpleasant stimuli (classical conditioning). Aversion therapy is based on the learning theory which states that all behaviours are learned and if we want to change an undesirable behaviour, we can change it through appropriate conditioning. For example, an individual ate something and felt sick afterwards. If this happened 2 or 3 times, then he is likely to avoid this kind of food as he doesn’t want to get sick again. Here’s another example: if an individual wants to quit smoking. His therapist can pair up smoking with some aversive stimuli such as unpleasant smell, vomiting, etc.

Aversion therapy can be used to treat a number of undesirable behaviours. Some such examples are alcohol abuse, gambling, violence, varying obsession and compulsions, etc. Before using this technique with any client, a behavioural contract is usually signed by the client and the therapist, detailing the treatment, objectives, outcomes and the expectations from the therapy. After psychoeducating the client, it is important to develop motivation for the change as it is a prerequisite of any therapy. If the client is not motivated or has no insight about the illness or undesirable behaviour, then chances are the therapy will not succeed.

Types of Aversion Therapy

There are two main types of aversion therapy

1. Overt sensitization
2. Covert sensitization

Overt sensitization

Overt sensitization is a type of aversion therapy that links an unpleasant stimuli, such as nausea, to an undesirable behaviour. For example, if someone wants to quit smoking, he may be asked to hold the smoke in his mouth for 6-7 seconds for every puff and do this rapidly. The rapid smoking will produce a nauseating feeling, which is an unpleasant feeling for the smoker. Gradually, the individual’s desire to smoke will decrease. Sometimes drugs are used to induce unpleasant stimuli such as severe nausea, palpitation and headache.

Covert sensitization
This technique requires that the individual has the motivation to change. Instead of relying on external factors, such as drugs, to produce the unpleasant stimuli, the individual has to produce the stimuli himself. The individual learns to imagine and create the nauseating feeling. He can practice this whenever it is required.

Effectiveness of Aversion Therapy

Aversion therapy’s long-term achievement is questionable as it depends on many factors, i.e. the client may not follow the instruction after the therapy. For example, the client may choose to join his friends and use drugs again. It also depends on the person‘s ability to differentiate between the aversive conditioning situation and all other situations. For example, a drug addict knows that there will be no nauseating feeling when he uses drug outside the therapist’s office. Moreover, there are ethical issues with regards to the practice of aversion therapy. For instance, the use of electric shock is unethical as it produces physical pain.