The behaviourist approach to treating phobias Flashcards
What is counterconditioning?
When a patient is taught, through classical conditioning, a new association that runs counter to the original association
What is systematic desensitisation (SD)?
A form of behavioural therapy whereby a client is gradually exposed to the phobic stimulus using a hierarchy, under relaxed conditions, until the anxiety reaction is extinguished
What are the three stages of systematic desensitisation
- Anxiety hierarchy – a list of situations related to phobic stimulus, arranged in order from least to most frightening
- Relaxation – train client in deep relaxation techniques, e.g. breathing exercises, mental imagery, muscle relaxation, anti-anxiety drugs. Works through reciprocal inhibition à relaxation prevents the emotion of fear
- Exposure – work through hierarchy using relaxation techniques until client is ready to confront real fear
What is flooding?
A form of behavioural therapy whereby a client is exposed to an extreme form of the phobic stimulus under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished
What is the strength for systematic desensitisation?
Research evidence for effectiveness- Research has found that SD is successful for a range of phobias. Its been reported that about 75% of patients with phobias respond to SD. Gilroy et al. (2003)- followed up 42 patients who had been treated for spider phobia in three 45-minutes sessions of SD. A control group was treated by relaxation without
exposure to a spider. At both 3 months and 33 months
after the treatment the SD group were less fearful than
the relaxation group.
What is the limitation for systematic desensitisation?
Not appropriate for all phobias- Researchers have suggested that SD may not be as effective in treating phobias that have an underlying evolutionary survival component (e.g. fear of the dark, fear of heights etc.), than in treating phobias which have been acquired as a result of personal experience. This suggests that SD can only be used effectively in tackling some phobias and not all.
What is the strength of flooding?
Cost-effective- Studies comparing flooding with other cognitive therapies (such as Cognitive-behavioural therapy) have found that flooding is highly effective and quicker. This quick effect means that patients are free of their symptoms as soon as possible and that makes the treatment cheaperà Flooding can work in as little as one session as opposed to say ten sessions for SD to achieve the same result. In addition to this, Choy et al. (2007) reported that both SD and flooding were effective, but flooding was the more effective of the two at treating phobias.
Counter- However, another review
concluded that SD and flooding were equally effective in the treatment of phobias.
What is the limitation of flooding?
Traumatic for patients- Flooding produces high levels of fear and this can be very traumatic for the patient. Therefore, patients are often unwilling to see it through to the end which reduces the ultimate effectiveness of the therapy for some people. Individual differences in responding to flooding therefore limit the effectiveness of the therapy.
What is the strength of behavioural therapies in general?
Suitable for diverse range of patients- Effective for all types of patients as it requires little effort on patient’s part. CBT requires a willingness for people to think deeply about their mental problems, which is not true for behavioural therapies. This lack of ‘thinking’ means that the technique is useful for people who lack insight into their motivations or emotions, such as children and patients with learning difficulties.
What is the limitation of behavioural therapies’ in general?
Symptom substitution: Behavioural therapies may not work with certain phobias. If the symptoms are removed the cause still remains, and the symptoms will simply resurface, possibly in another form (known as symptom substitution). E.G. according to the psychodynamic approach phobias develop because of projection. Freud recorded the case of Little Hans who developed a phobia of horses. The boy’s actual problem was an intense envy of his father, but could not express this directly and his anxiety was projected onto the horse. The phobia was cured when he accepted his
feelings about his father. Behavioural therapies would struggle to treat this phobia. Need to treat the underlying causes of a phobia rather than just the symptoms.
