Blaszczynski and Nower (2003)- using imaginal desensitisation to treat gambling disorder Flashcards
What is imaginal desensitisation?
- A behavioral therapy used to treat individuals with impulse control disorders (ICDs) by reducing their urges through mental rehearsal and relaxation techniques.
Mental rehearsal + relxation techniques
Why does imaginal desensitisation work?
- Based on the principles of classical conditioning- helps the brain associate impulse provoking situation with positive outcomes like relaxation (rather than compulsion)
Impulse provoking situation + relaxation (rather than compulsion)
How does imaginal desenistisation work?
1) Relaxation Training: The patient is guided through deep breathing + muscle relaxation exercises to reach a calm state.
2)Imagining the Impulsive Situation: They mentally visualize a scenario where they would typically feel/trigger an urge to engage in their impulsive behavior (gambling)
3)Interrupting the Urge: Instead of acting on the impulse, the patient imagines themselves calmly walking away from the situation or resisting the urge by implementing relaxation techniques
4) Repetition: Repeated mental rehearsal, weakens the emotional intensity of the urge, making it easier to resist in real life.
Stay calm, visualise, visualise walking away, repeat! (until the triggering situation is paired with relaxation)
Name 1 strength and 1 weakness of imaginal desenitisation
- Strength= Ethical as it avoids real-life exposure to the simuli/ avoids need for real-life aversive therapy (protection from harm)
- Weakness= Limited applicability/external validity. Requires vivid imagination, in order to rehearse high-risk situations that trigger the same level of arousal in real life- if the visulisation doesn’t feel real- the learned sklls may not translate to real-life.
Additional strength: Backed by research (Blaszczynski & Nower (2003)
What was the aim of Blaszczybski and Nower (2003)?
To investigate whether imaginal desensitisation could be used to treat gambling disorder
What was the main methods used?
- (Longitudinal case study)
- Imaginal desensitistaion
Describe the sample of Blaszczynski and Nower (2003)?
- Mary Doe
- 52 y/o
- Divorced mother of 2
- Bookkeeper
Diagnosis of gambling disorder
52= Younger than the ppts in Glover (2003) case study
Describe the case details of Blaszczynski and Nower (2003)?
- Onset: Developed an interest in gambling as a child, as she watched her grandmother play cards.
- Development: As a shy teenager, she began gambling for money in school. She became pregnant in highschool and her mother helped raise her kids.
- Negative consequences: The gambling escalated when it was legalized in Missouri, Mary started visiting a casino daily, losing around $25,000, which led her to consider stealing to fund her gambling. She sought help.
Describe the procedure/ treatment of Blaszczynski and Nower (2003) ?
- Treatment discussion: Mary + therapist discussed her stressors that triggered her behaviour. They created a guided imagery script based on these stressors. Goal= Link/pair impulse-provoking situation with relxation and a positive outcome (leaving)
Gambling urges paired with positive outcome (leaving)
Summarise the script
- Feeling the urge/Deciding to go
- Arriving at the casino
- Starting to gamble (generating arousal)
- Doubt creeps in
- Chooses to leave
Describe the script Mary and her therpaist made based on her stressors?
- Feeling the Urge/deciding to go – She feels lonely and wants to avoid being alone, so she thinks about going to the casino after work hoping it will make her feel better.
- Arriving at the Casino – The lights, sounds, and people make her excited to start playing.
- Starting to Gamble which generates arousal and exitement– She finds her favorite dealer, feels excitement and places a bet.
- Doubt Creeps In– once the excitement of gambling fades, she remembers past losess and begins she starts noticing things around her—like other people losing or the reality of her situation. This makes her feel less thrilled and more aware of the negatives, like boredom or regret. Then she chooses to leave
Name 1 strength and 1 weakness of Blaszczynski and Nower (2003)?
- Strength= In-depth qualitative data of her family history, gambling onset and gambling development, affects on her relationships and MH- allows other reseachers to understand best candidates for this therapy (severe), development of symptoms (could help early intervention)
- Weaknesses= (Generalisability) A single case study on a 52-year-old woman means the findings may not apply to especially men, younger patients etc
