behaviourist treatment of phobias - ao3

Question 1

Strength of systematic desensitisation- research support PEEL

Answer 1

P: further support comes gilroy et al 2002 who examined 42 patients w arachnophobia
E: each patient was treated using 3 , 45 min SD sessions
E: when examined 3 months later and then 33 months later the SD group were less fearful of spiders than a control group who were only taught relaxation techniques
L: this provides support for systematic desensitisation as an effective long term treatment for phobias.

Question 2

Limitation of flooding PEEL - highly traumatic

Answer 2

P: although flooding is considered a cost effective solution it can be highly traumatic to patients since it purposefully elicits a high level of anxiety
E: Wolpe 1969 recalled a case with a patient becoming so intensely anxious that she required hospitalisation
E: although it is not fully unethical as patients provide fully informed consent many don’t complete treatment because the expirencr is too stressful
L: therefore initiating flooding treatment is sometimes a waste of time and money if patients don’t fully engage or complete their treatment

Question 3

Weakness of behavioural therapy overall - symptom substitution

Answer 3

P: behavioural therapies may not work w certain phobias because the symptoms are only the tip of the iceberg
E: if symptoms are removed via therapies than cause still remains - so symptoms will simply resurface in another form
E; for example a child is struggling to cope with bereavement (grief) they may displace their anxiety about death in to something more tangible and easier to deal with such as fear of leaving the house. If this is the case then it makes sense thag the real source of anxiety the needs to be treated and not the displaced fear
L: although behaviourts Claim that most if not all phobias come about through conditioning this lack of focus on potential underlying causes of phobias could be problematic and is a limitation of behavioural therapies

Question 4

Strength of behavioural therapies overall

Answer 4

P: behavioural therapies for dealing with phobias is generally faster cheaper and require less effort on the patients part other then psychotherapies
E: for example CBT requires a willingness for people to think about their mental problems which is not
The case for behavioural therapies
E: this lack of thinking means that the techniques is also useful for ppl who lack insight into their motivations or emotions such as children or patients w learning difficulties
L: this is a strength as it means that behavioural therapies are applicable and helpful to a wide and diverse range of individuals giving it a greater scope to help ppl deal w their problems