Phobias Flashcards
what are phobias?
anxiety disorders that cause irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of that object or situation
what does the DSM-5 see phobias as?
an anxiety disorder which cases a person to have a consistent fear an object or situation a disproportionate amount to the true threat of the phobia. it is something of which a person will therefore go to great lengths to avoid and will experience distress if they are unable to do so. for it to meet the criteria of a phobia it must interfere with social and work life
what are the three types of phobias?
Specific
Social
Agoraphobia
what is a specific phobia?
animal
natural environment
blood/injections
situational
other
what is a social phobia?
fear of a social situation of a fear of interacting with other people
what is an agoraphobia?
fear of open spaces or a fear of being far from home
what are emotional characteristics of a phobias?
fear
anxiety
venerability
what are behavioural characteristics of phobias?
panic
avoidance
endurance
what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?
irrational thoughts
the person is aware that their fear is excessive
thinking resists rational arguments about the phobia
what is systematic desensitisation?
it is a therapy based on classical conditioning and it aims to replace the undesirable behaviours caused by phobias with desirable ones
what are the stages of systematic desensitisation?
client is taught deep relaxation techniques such as controlled breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, this will in turn eventual replace the fear response of a phobic stimulus with a relaxed one.
negotiation, the client will discuss and create their own hierarchy of fear which they will progress through to get over their phobia
graduated exposure, the hierarchy of needs is worked through until the end of which the client will be fully comfortable with their prior phobia
what is a hierarchy of fears?
it is a scale of increasing intensity as the phobia is slowly more and more prominent. it could start with thinking about spiders and end with holding one for example
how is the hierarchy of fears used in systematic desensitisation?
the person slowly goes up. they can only do on to the next stage once they are comfortable with their current one and this is where the relaxations techniques they were taught in the first stage will come into use. if at any point the client feels uncomfortable then they must go back down until they are completely calm again. by the end of this treatment they should be comfortable with the most extreme situations so with spiders for example they will be able to comfortably hold one by the end and have gotten over their phobia
how long does SD take?
it depends on the phobia but is usually 4-6 but can be up to 12 sessions for more sever phobias
what research supports the effectiveness of systematic desensitisation?
42 patients were treated for arachnophobia with SD and their response to spiders after was recorded along with a questionnaire. after this a control group were taught the relaxation techniques but were not exposed to the phobia. they were seen 3 and the 33 months after and their response to spiders were recorded as well. it was found that the group that had been exposed were less fearful of the spiders/
what are the two parts to flooding?
unavoidable exposure ad extinction
what is unavoidable exposure?
they are placed in a situation of which the phobia is directly involved whether its vitro or vivo in the most immediate and unavoidable way
what is extinction?
it is the replacement of a fearful response of a phobia with a neutral one. it is still exposure but without gradual exposure or the hierarchy of fear
what is the process of flooding?
if we compare it with SD, it is starting from the top.. the person is immediately put in direct contact with the phobia until they learn that the phobia is harmless and they lose the fearful and anxious response. they remain contact until the client is fully calm
what is vitro?
the client imagines the situation
what is vivo?
the client is in the situation
what research supports flooding?
Keene et al (1989) studied 24 Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD and went though 14-1 sessions of flooding therapy. they were tested before, after and 6 months after the therapy for symptoms of PTSD. they were compared to a control group who had no therapy and those who did have therapy had fewer flashbacks of the war
what are pros of flooding therapy?
it is cost effective compared to cognitive therapies
it has been compared to other treatments but is far quicker
what are cons of flooding therapy?
less effective as more abstract phobias such as social ones
ethics can be questions as it is traumatic for someone to go through
what are pros of SD?
quicker and takes less effort than psychotherapy
can treat a wide range of phobias
what are cons of SD?
while it appears to solve the issue but simply eliminating or suppressing could just lead to a different set of symptoms
