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Treating spider phobia using Neuro Emotional Technqiue (N.E.T.): A pilot study

A randomised controlled trial using Neuro Emotional Technique (N.E.T.) compared to no intervention for treating adults aged 18 to 65 years with spider phobia as measured by the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS)

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ANZCTR
Registry ID
ACTRN12608000276358
Enrollment
15
Registered
2008-05-29
Start date
2007-01-15
Completion date
2007-06-15
Last updated
2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This trial's aim was to test the efficacy of using Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) to reduce the severity of the symptoms of spider phobia in adults. It was hypothesised that NET would reduce the severity of both subjective and objective symptoms of spider phobics

Interventions

Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) is a relatively new stress-reduction technique whose aim is to remove neurological abnormalities which have a specified physiopathological pattern. Oftentimes emotional trauma can cause a learned emotional response, a conditioned fear, and as a result, a related physiopathological pattern. Under normal conditions, the learned response becomes extinct, and the physiopathological pattern resolves. However, occasionally this does not happen, and both persist. This

Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) is a relatively new stress-reduction technique whose aim is to remove neurological abnormalities which have a specified physiopathological pattern. Oftentimes emotional trauma can cause a learned emotional response, a conditioned fear, and as a result, a related physiopathological pattern. Under normal conditions, the learned response becomes extinct, and the physiopathological pattern resolves. However, occasionally this does not happen, and both persist. This especially seems to be case in phobia. The goal of NET is to normalise these aberrant patterns through a physical correction. It involves the dynamics of memory, muscle testing, and some principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (i.e. the meridian-emotion relationship). The experimental group received two 30-minute sessions of NET - once per week for 2 weeks.

Sponsors

University of Oxford
Lead SponsorUniversity

Study design

Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Self-reported spider phobia; fluent in English

Exclusion criteria

Currently being treated for spider phobia; Currently have another disgnosed mental health condition

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ANZCTR · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026