Phobias: treatments based on learning theories

Question 1

What is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 1

A bahvaioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response, such as anxiety, to a stimulus. SD involves drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to a phobic stimulus, teaching a client to relax and the exposing them to phobic situations. The client works their way through the hierarchy whilst maintaining relaxation.

Question 2

What is the anxiety hierarchy and who is it constructed by?

Answer 2

Constructed by client and therapist and is a list of situations related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety is arranged in order from least frightening to most frightening

Question 3

What type of relaxation activities are there?

Answer 3

• Breathing exercises
• Using mental imagery
• Using drugs such as Valium

Question 4

When is exposure used?

Answer 4

When client is in a relaxed state.
It takes several sessions and start at the bottom of the anxiety hierarchy.
When the client can stay relaxed in the presence of the lower levels of phobic stimulus they move up the hierarchy

Question 5

What is flooding?

Answer 5

A behavioural therapy in which a phobic client is exposed to an extreme form of phobic stimulus in order to reduce the anxiety triggered by that stimulus. This takes place across a small number of long therapy sessions.

Question 6

Why is flooding seen as unethical?

Answer 6

As it is an unpleasant experience so it is important that clients give fully informed consent to this traumatic experience