P1- Systematic Desensitisation Flashcards
What is systematic desensitisation?
Systematic desensitisation is a behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through the principle of classical conditioning. If the sufferer can learn to relax in the presence of a phobic stimulus they will be cured, a new response to the phobic stimulus is learned. Another term for this is counter-conditioning.
What is the first step of undergoing SD?
When undergoing SD, first the therapist and client put together an anxiety hierarchy. This is a list of situation related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety in order from least to most frightening— you might start with a money spider, building up to handling a tarantula.
What is second thing the therapist does?
Second the therapist teaches the patients relaxation exercises or mental imagery techniques such as imagining yourself lying in a beach.
What is the last step to SD?
Lastly the patient is gradually exposed to the phobic stimulus while in the relaxed state. This takes place over several sessions starting at the bottom of the anxiety hierarchy and building up. When the patient can stay relaxed in the presence of the lower levels of the phobic stim they move up the hierarchy.
Why does the treatment work?
The treatment works because it is impossible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time - reciprocal inhibition. Eventually a new association is made between relaxation and the phobic object and the phobia is gone.
