Lesson 7 - Behavioural Approach To Treating Phobias

Question 1

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 1

• Developed by Wolpe (1958)
• The central idea is that you cannot feel fear and relaxation the same time (reciprocal inhibition)
• The patient will learn to not be afraid of their object. This is counter-conditioning
• It involves the patient and therapist devising a hierarchy of fear around the phobic object. It can start with a relatively low intensity activity about their object, all the way up to direct exposure.
• They are taught deep muscle relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
• They can only move onto the next activity when they are entirely comfortable with the current one

Question 2

Jones (1924)

Answer 2

• Supports SD
• He experimented on “Little Peter” and his fear of white rabbits. He was exposed to it and gradually closer distances until his fear and anxiety was gone.
• This new affection was generalised for all white, fluffy objects

Question 3

Klosko et al (1990)

Answer 3

• Supports SD
• 87% panic free after SD
• 50% after medication
• 36% after a placebo
• 33% after no treatment
• Shows that SD is more effective than other treatments

Question 4

Strengths of SD

Answer 4

• Less traumatic than other forms of treatment like flooding
• Jones (1924) found that when an infant (Little Peter) was gradually exposed to a phobic object (white rabbit) he developed an affection for it.
• Klosko (1990) compared SD to other treatments. It was found that 87% of patients were panic free after SD, compared to 50% after medication, 36% after a placebo and 33% after no treatment at all.

Question 5

Weaknesses of SD

Answer 5

• Not always practical to arrange
• Can be expensive and can take a while
• Can result in symptom substitution as it does not combat the root cause of phobias.
• if done virtually (imagination) the patient could easily be lying or faking

Question 6

Flooding

Answer 6

• The patient is directly exposed to their phobic object in an immediate situation
• There is no gradual exposure or hierarchy of fear like SD
• This can be done in real life (in vivo) or virtually (imagining it)
• There is no possibility of avoidance here, and extinction can occur quickly as a result as the patient will see that the object is harmless
• The patient needs to give fully informed written consent to make the practice ethical. They need to be made fully aware of what is going to happen so that they are prepared.

Question 7

Strengths of flooding

Answer 7

• Cheaper than SD and much quicker, only takes a few hours

Question 8

Weaknesses of flooding

Answer 8

• Less effective at curing social phobias
• can be highly traumatic, and can result in the patient not wanting to continue, and it being a waste of time and money
• It can be argued that phobias are a product of irrational cognitions, therefore the root causes of phobias may not be targetted with flooding and CBT or other cognitive therapies may be more effective.

Question 9

Ost (1997)

Answer 9

• Supports flooding
• States it is an effective and rapid treatment and can deliver immediate improvements. Especially if exposure is carried out outside of therapy time.