Behavioural approach to treating phobias

Question 1

What is systematic desensitisation designed to do?

Answer 1

reduce an unwanted response such as anxiety to a stimulus

Question 2

What does Systematic d involve?

Answer 2

drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety provoking situations related to the phobic stimulus, teaching the patient to relax and then exposing them to the stimulus

Question 3

What is flooding?

Answer 3

a behavioural therapy where the patient is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety

Question 4

How long does flooding take?

Answer 4

a small number of long therapy sessions

Question 5

What is essentially learned in systematic desensitisation?

Answer 5

a new response to the phobic stimulus

Question 6

What is counter conditioning?

Answer 6

learning a different response

Question 7

What is stage 1 of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 7

-anxiety is established through a list of situations

Question 8

What is stage 2 of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 8

-therapist teaches patient relaxation strategies

Question 9

What is stage 3 of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 9

-exposure to the phobic stimulus in a relaxed state

Question 10

What does flooding involve?

Answer 10

exposure to phobic stimulus but without a gradual build-up