The fear behind the fear: a case study of apparent simple injection phobia.

The interrelations of multiple phobias are illustrated in the case of a female student whose presenting complaint of injection phobia did not at first appear to be related to her other fears. The rapid amelioration of her presenting complaint (sustained at three-month and eight-month follow-up) followed the discovery of functional relationships between these fears. The implications of the case with respect to Lang's (Anxiety and the Anxiety Disorders, 1985) work on the cognitive psychophysiology of emotion, and the investigations of McNeil and Berryman (Behavior Research Therapy 27, 233-236, 1989) and Rachman and Lopatka (Behavior Research Therapy 24, 653-660, 1986; Behavior Research Therapy 24, 661-664, 1986) are discussed.