treatment of phobias

Question 1

systematic desensitisation

Answer 1

• A behavioural therapy designed to reduce a response to a stimulus
• Works off the principle of classical conditioning
• Learn to relax in the presence of the stimulus - learning a new response to the stimulus
• Counter-conditioning
° Reciprocal inhibition

There are 3 processes involved in SD

1. The anxiety Hierarchy
2. Relaxation-taught
3. Exposure-have to achieve relaxation in each level

Question 2

flooding

Answer 2

Immediate and complete exposure to the phobic stimulus
• No gradual build up
• No relaxation techniques
• Sessions are often longer than with SD but often, only one session is needed
Why does this work?
-Extinction
• A learned response is extinguished when the conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus-eg spider and bite
• The conditioned stimulus will no longer produce the conditioned response.

Question 3

strength-effectiveness of systematic desensitisation

Answer 3

Further support comes from Gilroy et al. (2002) who examined 42 patients with arachnophobia (fear of spiders).
Each patient was treated using three 45-minute systematic desensitisation sessions.
When examined three months and 33 months later, the systematic desensitisation group were less fearful than a control group (who were only taught relaxation techniques).
This provides support for systematic desensitisation as an effective treatment for phobias in the long-term.

Question 4

limitation-flooding is highly traumatic

Answer 4

Although flooding is considered a cost-effective solution, it can be highly traumatic for patients since it purposefully elicits a high level of anxiety.
Wolpe (1969) recalled a case with a patient becoming so intensely anxious that she required hospitalisation.
Although it is not unethical as patients provide fully informed consent, many do not complete their treatment because the experience is too stressful.
Therefore, initiating flooding treatment is sometimes a waste of time and money if patients do not engage in or complete the full course of their treatment.

Question 5

limitation-symptom substitution

Answer 5

Behavioural therapies may not work with certain phobias because the symptoms are only the tip of the iceberg.
If the symptoms are removed the cause still remains and the symptoms will simply resurface, possibly in another form.
For example, a child struggling to cope with a bereavement may displace their anxiety about death on to something more tangible and easier to deal with such as a fear of leaving the house. If this is the case then it makes sense that the real source of anxiety then needs to be treated not the displaced fear.
Although behaviourists claim that most if not all phobias come about through conditioning, this lack of focus on potential underlying causes of phobias could be problematic and is a limitation of behavioural therapies.

Question 6

general strengths of behavioural therapies

Answer 6

Behavioural therapies for dealing with phobias are generally faster, cheaper and require less effort on the patients part than other psychotherapies.
For example CBT requires a willingness for people to think about their mental problems, which is not the case for behavioural therapies.
This lack of “thinking” means that the technique is also useful for people who lack insight into their motivations or emotions, such as children or patients with learning difficulties.
This is a strength as it means that behavioural therapies are applicable and helpful to a wide and diverse range of individuals giving it a greater scope to help people deal with their problems.