Treating phobias - AO3 Flashcards
1
Q
What is a strength of SD?
A
- P: Strength = evidence base for its effectiveness
- E: Gilroy et al. (2003): Followed 42 people who had SD for spider phobia in three 45 min sessions. At both three and 33 months, the SD group were less fearful than the control group (no exposure but relaxation)
- E: Recent interview Wechsler et al. (2019): concluded SD is effective for specific phobias, social phobia and agoraphobia
- L: SD is often the most appropriate treatment for people with learning difficulties who have phobias
2
Q
What is another strength of SD?
A
- P: Usefulness for people with learning disablities
- E: Main alternatives for SD are unsuitable for people with learning disabilities, e.g cognitive therapies require a high level of rational thought and flooding is distressing
- E: SD on the other hand does not require understanding or engagment on a cognitive level and is not a traumatic experience
- L:This means that SD is often the most appropiate treatment for some people
3
Q
What is a limitation of flooding?
A
- P: Limitation = highly cost effective
- E: When providing therapies in health systems like the NHS, we need to think about how much they cost. A therapy is cost-effective if its clinically effective and not expensive
- E: Flooding can work in as little as one session as opposed to ten sessions in SD. Even allowing for a longer session this makes flooding more cost effective.
- L: Means people can be treated at the same cost wiht flooding than with SD or other therapies
4
Q
What is a limitation of flooding?
A
- P: Limtation = highly unpleasant experience
- E: Confronting phobic stimulus in an extreme form provokes anxiety. Schumacher et al. (2015): PPs and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD
- E: Raises etthical issue for psychollogists of knowingly causing stress to their clients. This is not a serious issue provided they can obtain informed consent. traumatic nature of flooding means attrition rates are higher than for SD
- L: Suggests that overall therapists may avoid using this treatment
