Unlearning of children's fears

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Mary Cover Jones · 1924 · Teachers College, Columbia University

What it is

This is not a manualised therapy and has no practitioner training track. It is a 1923–24 research programme run at Teachers College, Columbia University, with J. B. Watson advising, that tested seven ways of removing learned fears in young children (70 children aged 3 months to 7 years, most…

Format

• Phase 3. Treatment sessions
• Format: individual child, sometimes with one to three fearless peers present; brief sessions in the laboratory; for Peter twice daily at first, then once daily; direct-conditioning sessions timed to the existing mid-morning lunch because meal schedules could not be changed. Session length is not…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• What it is, plainly. This is not a manualised therapy and has no practitioner training track. It is a 1923–24 research programme run at Teachers College, Columbia University, with J. B. Watson advising, that tested seven ways of removing learned fears in young children (70 children aged 3 months to 7 years, most treatment cases under 4) and documented one intensive case, Peter (2 years 10 months at the start), whose…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Verbal change without behavioural change ("talks brave, still runs").
• Drops after illness, a fright outside sessions, or a minor injury; see §5.
• Steps that are too large (the child jumps from calm to crying); split them.
• Over-reliance on one device; if gains stall, change the combination, not the pace.
• Fear produced by the test itself; keep exposures brief and end each one on a calm note.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.