Lesson 7 - Behavioural Approach To Treating Phobias Flashcards

1
Q

Systematic desensitisation

A
  • Developed by Wolpe (1958)
  • The central idea is that you annoy feel fear and relaxation the same time (reciprocal inhibition)
  • It involves the patient and therapist devising a hierarchy of fear around the phobic object. It can start with a relatively low intensity activity about their object, all the way up to direct exposure.
  • They are taught deep muscle relaxation techniques
  • They can only move onto the next activity when they are entirely comfortable with the current one
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2
Q

Jones (1924)

A
  • Supports SD
  • He experimented on “Little Peter” and his fear of white rabbits. He was exposed to it and gradually closer distances until his fear and anxiety was gone.
  • This new affection was generalised for all white, fluffy objects
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3
Q

Klosko et al (1990)

A
  • Supports SD
  • 87% panic free after SD
  • 50% after medication
  • 36% after a placebo
  • 33% after no treatment
  • Shows that SD is more effective than other treatments
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4
Q

Strengths of SD

A

Less traumatic than other forms of treatment like flooding

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5
Q

Weaknesses of SD

A
  • Not always practical to arrange
  • Can be expensive and can take a while
  • Can result in symptom substitution as it does not combat the root cause of phobias.
  • if done virtually (imagination) the patient could easily be lying or faking
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6
Q

Ost (1997)

A
  • Supports flooding
  • States it is an effective and rapid treatment and can deliver immediate improvements. Especially if exposure is carried out outside of therapy time.
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7
Q

Strengths of flooding

A
  • Cheaper than SD and much quicker, only takes a few hours
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8
Q

Weaknesses of flooding

A
  • Less effective at curing social phobias
  • can be highly traumatic, and can result in the patient not wanting to continue, and it being a waste of time and money
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