Fear & Anxiety Reduction Procedure Flashcards
Fear
Caused by stimulus/situation that produces unpleasant physiological response (anxiety)
Respondant Extinction
Presents a CS repeatedly without the US
- CS starts to have less effect on the individual
Kinds of CS (3)
- In Vivo
- Imaginal
- Symbolic
In Vivo
Real-life events, objects, or people
- ex: (sitting on airplane)
Imaginal
Mental representations of events, objects, or people
- ex: (IMAGINING sitting on an airplane)
Symbolic
Overt representation of events, object, or people
- ex: (looking at a PICTURE of a person sitting on an airplane)
Counterconditioning
Trains the person to substitute a competing or incompatible behavior for the CR when CS is present
- includes extinction
- Using STEPS in degrees of toleration (6 feet away from snake, 3 feet away, touch snake, hold snake)
Relaxation
A state of calmness with low psychological and physiological tension
Rapid Relaxation Induction Method
Technique that allows an individual to calm themselves quickly with images & deep breathing
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Alternating tensing & relaxting different muscle groups while resting
Diaphragmatic Breathing (Deep Breathing)
Using muscles of the diaphragm to breathe deeply & slowly in a rhythmic pattern
- Abdomen expansion
- Focuses on the sensations of breathing
Attention-Focusing Exercises (3)
- Guided Imagery
- Autogenic Training
- Meditation
Guided Imagery
Person imagines pleasant/peaceful scenes/images
- Therapists guides person through script
- Attention focused of the scene instead of anxiety-provoked thoughts/feelings
Autogenic Training
Autogenic= Self-Produced
Person imagines being in a pleasant/peaceful scene, feeling specific bodily sensations (warm or heavy feeling)
- Eliminating tension
- Specific things to focus on
- 3 times
Meditation
Focusing one’s attention on an object, event, or idea to help person become detached/dissociated from their physical state, thoughts, feelings
- Mindfulness & awareness of current experiance
Behavioral Relaxation Training
Relaxation of different muscle groups & adopting certain body postures
- Does NOT include muscle tensing
- Incorporates other techniques
Systematic Desensitization
Used to REVERSE a person’s learned fear response
1. Person learns relaxation techniques
2. Person develops Stimulus Hierrarchy of CS
3. Therapist describes CS while person maintains state of relaxation
- HIGHLY effective in helping overcome fears
Subjective Units of Discomfort Scale (SUDS)
Rate the amount of fear produced by a given CS
- Scale of 0-100
Reciprocal Inhibition
Relaxation response DECREASES the fear response
- If person remains calm, therapist moves on to the next most fear-inducing CS in the hierarchy
In Vivo Desensitization
(Gradual In Vivo Exposure/Graduated Exposure)
Person is GRADUALLY exposed to the actual stimulus that produces fear/anxiety
- Effective for anxiety disorders/obsessions
- In Vivo procedures are MOST effective
Flooding
“Shortcut”
Client is exposed to feared object/situation for prolonged period of time
- Prevents escape/avoidance
- Anxiety is not reinforced; response is extinguished
Implosive Therapy
Imagined stimuli/situations to carry out flooding
Modeling
Phobic person watches SOMEONE ELSE preform a feared behavior
Participant Modeling
- 1st observes someone else cope in feared situations
- Person is ENCOURAGED to join
- Guided to INCREASE CONTACT with feared object/event
Videotaped Modeling
Watches a VIDEO of someone else dealing with feared situations
- Less effective than Participant Modeling
Computer-Aided Vicarious Exposure
Person uses computer to guide scenarios/CS that on-screen persona experiences
- Less effective than In Vivo Desensitization
Virtual Reality Exposure
Using VR (Immersive Experience) as a controlled, stimulated experience of exposure therapy
- Often used on people with PTSD
