Behavior Therapy for Youth With Tourette Disorder

Persistent tic disorders and Tourette disorder (TD) are neuropsychiatric conditions that commonly co-occur among youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although historically managed with pharmacological agents such as antipsychotics and alpha-2 agonists, behavioral interventions like habit reversal training (HRT) and the comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics have demonstrated considerable efficacy in reducing tic symptom severity. This case study illustrates the implementation of behavior therapy in reducing tic symptom severity of an adolescent with TD. Arlene was a 14-year-old girl with TD who presented with moderate tic symptom severity that caused her physical, academic, and social impairment. In addition to concurrent pharmacotherapy, Arlene completed a 20-session weekly course of HRT, and experienced a clinically meaningful reduction in tic symptom severity and tic-related impairment. This example provides further evidence of the benefit of behavior therapy in reducing tic symptom severity and highlights key considerations for treatment of youth with TD.