The literature of behavior therapy omits raw data that might indicate what changes in psychopathology may be caused by such factors as history-taking, discussion of problems, positive transference, rapport, behavior techniques, and insight. Three patients with phobic-like reactions had their fears deconditioned by exposure to a reading of a hierarchy of increasingly strong tension-producing descriptions, with interruptions and suggestions that they relax and think of something pleasant, as needed. Their spontaneous thoughts were welcomed. The author concludes that collecting and organizing the hierarchies required the patients to examine the facts of their lives and this examination, together with a positive transference atmosphere, invariably led to insights. The procedure was effective if the symptoms were of relatively recent origin and bound to easily identified external sources, but not if the symptoms were more complex expressions of historical experiences and laden with multiple derivatives of aggression and sexuality.