Phobias (treatment)

Question 1

who developed systematic desensitisation?

Answer 1

wolpe 1958

Question 2

what is the basis of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 2

counterconditioning; patient is taught through classical conditioning to associate the phobic stimulus with a new response, e.g. relaxation instead of fear

Question 3

what did wolpe also call this process?

Answer 3

reciprocal inhibition

Question 4

what is the first thing the therapist does?

Answer 4

teach the patient relaxation techniques - progressive muscle relaxation, focusing on breathing, etc

Question 5

what is the desensitisation hierarchy?

Answer 5

different stages where the patient practices relaxation so the situation becomes more familiar, less overwhelming and their anxiety diminishes

Question 6

what is flooding?

Answer 6

a client is exposed to (or imagines) an extreme form of the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished
(experience the phobia at its worst)

Question 7

how can the procedure be conducted?

Answer 7

in vivo (actual exposure) or virtual reality/imagining the feared stimulus (in vitro)

Question 8

how does flooding work?

Answer 8

Rationale - a person’s fear response and the release of adrenaline underlying this has a time limit. as adrenaline levels naturally decrease, the feared stimulus becomes associated with a non-anxious response

Question 9

evaluation of SD?

Answer 9

• McGrath et al 1990; about 75% of patients with phobias respond to SD
• choy et al 2007; in vivo techniques are more useful than in vitro
• demonstrates effectiveness of SD and also the value of using a range of different exposure techniques

Question 10

evaluation of SD?

Answer 10

• Ohman et al 1975; SD may not be effective in treating phobias that have an underlying evolutionary survival component than in treating phobias which have been acquired as a result of personal experience
• suggests that SD can only be used effectively in tackling some phobias

Question 11

evaluation of flooding?

Answer 11

• flooding can be an effective treatment for those who stick with it and it’s relatively quick compared to CBT
• choy et al; both SD and flooding are effective but flooding is the more effective of the two

Question 12

evaluation of flooding?

Answer 12

• can be a highly traumatic procedure
• patients may quit during treatment which reduces the ultimate effectiveness of the therapy
• individual differences in responding to flooding therefore limit the effectiveness of the therapy