Behavioural approach to treating phobias

Question 1

Behavioural approaches to treating phobias

List

Answer 1

Systematic desensitisation

Flooding

Question 2

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 2

a behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response (anxiety) to a stimulus
involves relaxation training, creating an anxiety hierarchy and gradual exposure to the anxiety hierarchy

Question 3

Systematic desensitisation

How it works

Answer 3

└uses principle of classical conditioning
└counterconditioning
└phobic stimulus paired with relaxation instead of anxiety
└can’t be relaxed and scared at same time
└reciprocal inhibition

Question 4

Systematic desensitisation

Stages

Answer 4

└anxiety hierarchy
└relaxation training
└gradual exposure to the anxiety hierarchy

Question 5

anxiety hierarchy

Answer 5

└made my patient and therapist

└list of phobic situations- least to most frightening

Question 6

relaxation training

Answer 6

└e.g. breaking, mental imagery techniques

└e.g. drugs- Valium

Question 7

gradual exposure to the anxiety hierarchy

Answer 7

└exposed to phobic stimulus in a relaxed state
└several sessions
└work up hierarchy

Question 8

Systematic desensitisation

Strengths (3)

Answer 8

Effective 
└for specific phobias
└Gilroy et al (2003)
  └spiders- systematic desensitisation better than relaxation only 
└long lasting effects

Suitable for diverse range of patients
└leaning difficulties- easier to understand and engage

Acceptable to patients
└doesn’t cause trauma
└low refusal and attrition (drop out) rates

Question 9

Systematic desensitisation

Limitations (1)

Answer 9

Symptom substitution
└one phobia disappears- another in its place
└might not happen at all

Question 10

Flooding

Answer 10

└behavioural therapy in which a phobic patient is immediately exposed to an extreme form of the phobic stimulus and avoidance is prevented, until they are calm and anxiety triggered by the stimulus is reduced.
This takes place over a small number of long therapy sessions

Question 11

Flooding

How it works

Answer 11

└without avoidance patient learns stimulus is harmless
└classical conditioning- extinction
└conditioned stimulus encountered without the unconditioned stimulus

Question 12

Flooding

Ethical safeguards

Answer 12

└patients must give full informed consent to the traumatic procedure
└patients normally given choice between therapies

Question 13

Flooding

Strengths (1)

Answer 13

Cost effective

└quicker= cheaper

Question 14

Flooding

Limitations (2)

Answer 14

Less effective for some types of phobia
└effective for treating simple phobias
└less effective for complex phobias
  └e.g. social phobias 
    └as cognitive aspects 

Traumatic
└patients often unwilling to see through till end
└time and money wasted