Treatment of behavioral addictions utilizing the feeling-state addiction protocol: A multiple baseline study

This article proposes a new treatment for behavioral addictions, which are commonly treated with some form of cognitive behavioral therapy. The Feeling-State Addiction Protocol (FSAP), based on the feeling-state theory of behavioral and substance addiction, proposes that just as single-event traumas can become fixated with negative feelings, intensely positive events can become fixated with positive feelings. This fixated linkage between an event and a feeling is called a feeling-state (FS). A multiple baseline study of the FSAP was performed using only the steps of the protocol that involved the processing of the FSs. The results of the study of 4 participants (each with at least two compulsions) indicated for 3 of the 4 participants a clear link between the processing of the FSs and reduced reactivity to the visualized behavior. The reactivity was measured by skin conductance level and a positive feeling scale. All four participants reported that their compulsive behavior was eliminated after the intervention targeted the FSs.

Journal

English

Robert Miller

Miller, R. (2012). Treatment of behavioral addictions utilizing the feeling-state addiction protocol: A multiple baseline study. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 6(4), 159-169. doi:10.1891/1933-3196.6.4.159