Phobias

Question 1

What is systemic desensitisation

Answer 1

Systemic desensitisation is a a cognitive behavioural therapy for treating phobias

Anxiety hierarchy: patient creates a ranking of situations involving phobic stimulus from least fear inducing to most

Relaxation: patient is taught various relaxation techniques as it’s impossible to feel anxiety and be relaxed these can be breathing techniques or meditation etc

Exposure: over multiple sessions patient is exposed to their anxiety hierarchy whilst utilising relaxation techniques they have learnt

Question 2

What is flooding

Answer 2

Patient is exposed to phobic stimulus immediately this works as fear is a time based response therefore if patient is exposed long enough they should get over phobia

Question 3

Behavioural characteristics of phobia

Answer 3

Panic
Avoidance
Endurance

Question 4

Cognitive characteristics of phobia

Answer 4

Specific attention to phobic stimulus

Cognitive distortions: person sees phobic stimulus as worse than it actually is. For example for spiders a person may see a harmless spider as deadly

Question 5

What are the emotional characteristics of a phobia

Answer 5

Fear
Anxiety
Irrational response:reaction is indiscriminate to what person is facing