Evidence based interventions

Question 1

What are the biological interventions?

Answer 1

• benzodiazepines
• exercise
• breathing retraining

Question 2

What are benzodiazepines?

Answer 2

group of drugs that increase the inhibitory effects of GABA by acting of the GABA receptors

Question 3

How do benzodiazepines prevent phobias?

Answer 3

reduce the symptoms of anxiety by imitating the role of GABA

Question 4

What are benzodiazepines used to treat?

Answer 4

GABA dysfunction

Question 5

What does breathing retraining involve?

Answer 5

teaching correct breathing patterns to help people deal with specific phobias

Question 6

How does breathing retraining work?

Answer 6

based on the concept that we hyperventilate when stressed and encountered by our phobias = aims to use slower breathing to help prevent hyperventilation and reduce levels of anxiety

Question 7

What does exercise involve?

Answer 7

can promote relaxation and reduce fear/anxiety

= provides a distraction or time out for phobias

Question 8

How does exercise prevent phobias?

Answer 8

• produces positive chemicals = endorphins

- uses up negative chemicals = adrenalin

Question 9

What did the sample of 30 patients with dental phobia conclude in regards to exercise?

Answer 9

acute exercise is a simple and low cost way to reduce phobia fears
= effected the ratings of anxiety levels

Question 10

What are the 2 types of psychological interventions?

Answer 10

• cognitive behavioural therapy

- systematic desensitisation

Question 11

What is cognitive behavioural therapy?

Answer 11

combination of verbal and behavioural techniques to help people change their irrational thinking patterns that create a phobia

Question 12

What does cognitive behavioural therapy aim to achieve?

Answer 12

aims to change negative thoughts = replace them with positive and more realistic thoughts
- aims to change the thinking that the phobia stimulus is unpleasant

Question 13

What is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 13

type of behavioural therapy that aims to replace an anxiety response with a relaxation response when a person is confronted with a phobia stimulus

Question 14

What does systematic desensitisation involve?

Answer 14

graduated exposure to the phobia stimulus

Question 15

What are the 4 steps involved in systematic desensitisation?

Answer 15

1 - trains client with relaxation technique
2 - clients builds anxiety hierarchy from most anxiety to least anxiety
3 - Client works through the heirarchy and learns to stay relaxed when imagining the situations
4 - process is repeated until the most anxiety situation causes little to no anxiety and the stimulus can be exposed with no fear stimulus

Question 16

What are the social intervention?

Answer 16

• psychoeducation for friends and family

Question 17

What is psychoeducation?

Answer 17

explanation of the mental disorder’s nature, treatment and strategies used to manage it

Question 18

How does psychoeducation prevent phobias?

Answer 18

• helps patients and their support systems

= aims to help manage the phobia and contribute to a greater sense of self

Question 19

What can psychoeducation help achieve?

Answer 19

• learning to challenge anxious thoughts

- discouraging avoidance behaviours