Treatment of tourette syndrome by habit reversal: A waiting-list control group comparison

The present investigation employed a waiting-list control group design to evaluate the effectiveness of the habit reversal treatment procedure in eliminating the multiple motor and vocal tics in 10 subjects with Tourette Syndrome. The mean percent reduction in tics for all 10 subjects at the last month of treatment was 93.0% at home and 93.5% in the clinic. Reductions occurred for vocal tics as well as each type of motor tic, for the children as well as the adults, for those subjects receiving TS medications as well as those not doing so, and for tic severity as well as tic frequency; there was no evidence of symptom substitution. These results suggest that Tourette Syndrome can be treated effectively with this type of behavior therapy.