Some Issues Arising from the Desensitization of a Dog Phobia in a Mildly Retarded Female: Or Should We Take the Bite Out of the Bark?

A 32 year old mildly retarded female with a dog phobia of more than 20 years standing was desensitized by means of a participant modelling procedure involving multiple coping models. Though treatment gains were reported to have generalized to real life settings and were maintained at follow-up, residual symptoms concerning ‘barking’ and ‘leaping’ dogs remained. Paramount among the issues arising from the case is the problem of the extent to which desensitization should be undertaken or as the title suggests: should we take the bite out of the bark?