Fear of the dark.
This case study relates to a 9 year old child who was unable to sleep without a light on because of his fear of the dark. Later on in the year he was to be going away for a week with the school so he wanted to be able to sleep in the dark.

The day before the session he had tried to sit, accompanied by his mother in a dark room; as soon as the light went off he went into panic mode. He was very agitated, struggled with his breathing and wanted the light back on. He started to settle when a torch was switched on.

Solution
Three sessions were required for this treatment. The first session worked on his fear of the dark. After a 30 minute session he was able to sit in alone in a dark room.

The second session worked on being able to sleep without the light on.
The night after this session he was happy to go to sleep in a dark room. However, in the morning the light was on although he had no recollection of turning it on.

This carried on for a couple nights, he didn't feel he needed it on and never had any recollection of switching it on. He had come to the conclusion that it must be because he was so used to having the light on it had become a habit.
The third session worked on breaking the habit of needing a light on.

Results

He is no longer afraid of the dark and always sleeps without the light on and he is looking forward to the school trip.

His success was highlighted when, one night, he was left in bed with the light on so that he could play for a while. He was given half an hour to play. On going up to turn of the light to settle him down he was fast asleep and had turned the light off himself.