Effects of participant modeling and desensitization on childhood warm water phobia.

Parental participant modeling and contact desensitization were used to reduce phobia of warm water bathing in a 6-year-old male burn victim traumatized by his natural parents. Cradled in an adoptive parent's arms, the child contacted, entered, and remained in increasingly warmer and deeper water for 3-min intervals during daily 15-min bathing routines. Treatment effected heat and depth tolerance to the point that the subject maintained desired behavior without parental assistance. Heat and depth tolerance persisted through a 6-month follow-up period.