Phobia Treatments Flashcards
What is the assumption behaviours have when it comes to treatments?
If a phobia can be learned, it can be unlearned using some principle.
What is exposure?
What is this the process of?
What 2 ways can exposure happen?
Patients must confront their fears until the fear subsides because of habituation.
This is the process of your behavioural and sensory responses disappearing over time
This can either be in vivo:real life exposure or vitro:imagination
What is response prevention?
Why is this necessary?
Stopping themselves from engaging in typical avoidance or escape behaviours when faced with a feared situation.
This is necessary so that these undesirable behaviours are no longer reinforced.
What is systematic desensitisation?
What does the treatment assume?
What do the number of sessions based off?
Gradual process which enables patient to unlearn the maladaptive behaviour (fear) and substitute it with a more adaptive response (relaxation), done using counter conditioning
Treatment assumes that the phobia can be removed by teaching someone to relax when in contact with phobic object.
Number of sessions based on severity of the phobia, usually 4-6 sessions but can be up to 12.
The therapy is complete once agreed therapeutic goals are met (doesn’t always mean phobias is completely gone)
Four stages of systematic desensitisation
Functional analysis: therapist and patient discuss phobia and identify triggers for anxiety.
Construction of anxiety hierarchy: therapist works with patient to construct a hierarchy of fear, conditioned stimulus from least fearful to most.
Training in relaxation techniques: training techniques such as control over breathing and and muscle relaxation-not possible to be calm and relaxed at the same time
Gradual exposure: patient opriogresses along the fear hierarchy whilst simultaneously using relaxation techniques, client works their way up.
-once they feel comfortable they will move on.
Different treatments- SD
Flooding is an alternative treatment to this.,
Unlike SD, there is no gradual exposure, patients are exposed to the stimulus that would be at the too of the hierarchy straight away.
This could help individuals overcome their phobias in a much faster time frame which could gain a better commitment to the treatment.
Ethics and social control.- SD
Fairly ethical
Especially in comparison to flooding which involves placing individuals into situations causing extreme anxiety.
SD is a more gradual and controlled process as it reduces the risk of psychological harm and is more likely to be tolerated by patients, particularly those who are highly anxious making it a more ethical approach.
Side effects- SD
No physical side effects to the treatment, particularly in comparison to biological treatment which involves medication that causes side effects such as neusia.
However drug treatments offer an immediate action to reduce anxiety whereas SD cannot offer this.
Supporting/opposing studies- SD
Support form capafons (1998)
Found that individuals with a fear of flying who underwent SD showed significant reductions in their fear responses.
This increases credibility that SD is an effective treatment for phobias.
Expense-SD
The treatment is relatively cheap and available on the NHS in most areas.
Many NHS trusts offer access to this treatment as part of their psychological services for free.
Because it’s cost effective it provides an affordable option for individuals seeking treatment for phobias. This makes it a practical option for those in need of psychological support for phobias.
Reason or mask symptoms- SD
It addresses the root cause of the phobias rather than masking the symptoms.
Unlike some interventions that merely manage the symptoms (medication), SD works at the core of the issue by helping individuals to retain their response to phobic stimulus.
This seems that it provides long term benefits by addressing underlying cause of fear
Time commitment- SD
One limitation is the time commitment.
SD typically involves several therapy sessions which can span over weeks or even months depending on severity.
So can be an effective treatment
The extended duration maybe be a disadvantage for individuals seeking quick results
what is flooding?
wat does it use to attempt to replace the fear with something?
method for overcoming a fear based on classical conditioning.
there is no gradual response patients are exposed to the stimulus that would be at the top of the hierarchy right at the start.
it uses psychologically-proven relaxation techniques to replace the fear with relaxation.
what is the assumption of flooding?
if a phobia has been learned it can be extinguished by exposure.
rationales behind flooding
- if the patients anxiety is maintained at such a high level, eventually some process of exhaustion or stimulus takes place.
-if the patient is prevented from making their normal avoidance response, extinction will occur.
what does flooding in its purest form involve?
forced, prolonged exposure to the actual stimulus that provoked original trauma.
-this can be problematic, if not completely impossible
1)how does flooding have biological elements?
2)what would then happen to cause calm?
1)you can only experience an autonomic reaction for a certain length of time and then it would have to subside.
This is apart of fight or flight response, providing us with adrenaline
2) Parasympathetic nervous system will be responsible for calming down alarmed reaction.
how does flooding link to classical conditioning?
fear is an autonomic reaction and body reflexes are the UCS in classical conditioning.
-the patient should learn that the calmer response links to the previously feared object or situation.
difference between flooding and SD?
SD: patient has the power to relax and control their exposure
flooding: don’t have control- the treatment can work well with PTSD.
-the patient recalls memories and sticks with them until the overwhelming physical responses have calmed.
different treatment- flooding
-SD is an alternative to flooding.
-unlike flooding, there is a gradual exposure where patients build up to their fear over a period of therapy sessions.
-this could help the individual to overcome their phobias in a much more ethical way which might be a better alternative to flooding.
ethical and social control- flooding
- a major concern would be psychological harm.
-as individuals placed in a situation that causes extreme anxiety/panic.
-however progressive exposures can be used which are more tolerable and can be used for patients who express reluctance to engage in exposure.
studies- supporting/opposing
-flooding
-Wolpe (1973) provided evidence for flooding being successful.
-he took a girl whop was scared of cars in a drive until she calmed down even though extremely distressed at the start.
-study increases credibility that flooding is an effective treatment for phobias.
side effects-flooding
-significant side effects.
-exposure can sometimes lead to a worsening of the fear, especially if the patient is not adequately prepared for the overwhelming experience.
-highlights why flooding may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those with severe anxiety or those who are more susceptible to psychological harm.
expense-flooding
-can be a limitation.
-although its typically completed in fewer sessions than SD, the intense nature of the treatment often requires more specialised supervision and preparation by a trained therapist.
-this makes it less cost effective compared to other treatments like SD which can achieve the same results at a lower cos
combining exposure with relaxation step by step- flooding
1) the person is in a state of extreme anxiety, panic.
2)exhaustion sets in and brings anxiety levels down.
3)now they have no choice but to confront their fear.
4)when the panic subsides and they find they have come to no harm, the fear is extinguished.
what does the therapist do in flooding?
-relaxation techniques before entering the room
-talks to individuals before and after on how they are feeling and discusses levels of anxiety.
what does flooding demonstrate to the individual?
The phobias are irrational thoughts and flooding can demonstrate this as once the patient is calm and realises that the worst didn’t happen.
reason or mask symptom- flooding
-there can be spontaneous recovery.
-which is when the phobia reappears after a period of time.
-this can happen with SD but is less likely because the process takes more time and creates a stronger disconnection between phobic object and fear. Flooding therefore might be a short term solution.
time commitment- flooding
-its difficult to predict the duration of treatment because the effectiveness can vary from person to person.
-some individuals may experience prolonged distress or may not respond effectively to the treatment requiring additional time to overcome their fear.
-this variability makes it difficult to estimate how long the treatment for the phobia will take for any given individual.
