The behavioural approach to treating phobias

Question 1

systematic desensitisation (SD)

Answer 1

a behavioural 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 the phobia stimulus, teaching the patient to relax, and then exposing them to phobic situations.
The patient works their way through the hierarchy whilst maintaining relaxation.

Question 2

reciprocal inhibition

Answer 2

it is impossible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time, so one emotion prevents the other

Question 3

3 processes involved in SD

Answer 3

1. The anxiety hierarchy
2. Relaxation
3. Exposure

Question 4

SD - 1. The anxiety hierarchy

Answer 4

put together by patient and therapist
- list of situations related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety arranged in order from least to most frightening.

Question 5

SD - 2. Relaxation

Answer 5

therapist teaches the patient to relax as deeply as possible.

• might involve breathing exercises or, alternatively, the patient might learn mental imagery techniques
• or medicine

Question 6

SD - 3. Exposure

Answer 6

patient exposed to phobic stimulus while in a relaxed state.

• takes place across several sessions, starting at bottom of anxiety hierarchy.
• when patient can stay relaxed in presence of the lower levels of the phobic stimulus they move up the hierarchy.

Question 7

Flooding

Answer 7

a behavioural therapy in which a phobic patient is exposed to an extreme form of phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus.
- takes place across a number of long therapy sessions

Question 8

How does flooding work?

Answer 8

stops phobic responses very quickly
- without the options of avoidance behaviour, the patient learns that the phobic stimulus os harmless.

In classical conditioning call this extinction
A learned response is extinguished when the conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus.
- result is conditioned stimulus no longer produces conditioned response (fear).