The clinical and forensic psychiatric issues of retifism

The literature on the etiological theories, clinical manifestations and treatment of retifism (foot fetishism) and fetishisms in general are briefly reviewed. The case of a 27 year old married male foot-fetishist is presented with emphasis on the psychosexual development leading to the specific sexual deviation. The specific behavioural treatment consisted of covert aversive conditioning using self-reports of sexual urges and psychophysiological monitoring as objective measures of therapeutic change. The theoretical basis for the therapeutic response is discussed.