The Behavioural Approach to Treating Phobias Flashcards
What is systematic desensitisation?
A behavioural therapy designed to reduce phobic anxiety through classical conditioning. If a person can learn to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus then they can be cured. This is called counter-conditioning.
What are the 3 processes involved in SD?
Anxiety hierarchy - therapist and client put a list of situations from least to most frightening.
Relaxation - learning relaxation techniques to learn to cope in each new condition.
Exposure - this takes place across 8-10 sessions.
What is reciprocal inhibition?
Where it is impossible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time as one emotion prevents the other. The processes they learn to relax essentially force out the anxiety.
What is flooding?
2-3 hours of sudden and intimate exposure to the phobic stimulus. Only one session is often needed.
How does flooding work?
It stops phobic responses quickly, because without the option of avoidance the client learns the phobic stimulus is harmless. In classical conditioning terms, this is called extinction. A learned response is extinguished when the CS is encountered without the UCS, the result being that the CS no longer produces the CR. In some cases a client will be exhausted by their own fear response so naturally relax.
What are the ethical issues with flooding?
It is not unethical but it is traumatic so it is important the client gives fully informed consent, after they’ve been given the choice between SD and flooding.
What is the strength of Systematic Desensitisation?
Evidence for effectiveness - Wechsler found that SD is effective for specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia over flooding.
What is the other strength for Systematic Desensitisation?
It can be used for those with learning disabilities. Flooding is unsuitable so people with learning disabilities struggle with cognitive therapies and would be overly distressed by flooding.
What is the other strength for Systematic Desensitisation?
It can be used for those with learning disabilities. Flooding is unsuitable so people with learning disabilities struggle with cognitive therapies and would be overly distressed by flooding.
What is the strength for Flooding?
Cost-effective, it only needs 1 session. It is clinically effective and inexpensive. This means more people can be treated for the same cost.
What is the limitation of Flooding?
It is traumatic and highly unpleasant. Schumacher found participants and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD. This raises the ethical issue of knowingly causing stress, however they do have informed consent so it may not be a significant deal. It also means that attrition rates are higher.
