Systematic Desensitisation Flashcards
First developed by Wolpe (1958) based on the principals of CC, it works on the assumption that we cannot be afraid and relaxed at the same time
as they are two opposite emotions so if we stay relaxed in the presence of the thing we will no longer fear it
The patient is first taught to relax through
deep muscle relaxation, in which different muscle groups are relaxed and tensed
Whilst relaxing, the patient comes into contact with their fear in graded forms, usually by imagining it and following
the hierachy of possible forms of contact set up by the patient
Between sessions, patients are ususally asked to complete
homework assignments where they put themselves more progressively in frightening real life situations
Brosnan and Thorpe (2006) used a 10 week programme to help 16 technophobic students on and IT course and compared to a control group
their anxiety levels were significantly lower
Craske and Barlow (1999) found that between 60-80% of agorophobics show
some improvement but only slight and clients often relapse completely after 6 months
It is not clear whether SD works because of reciprocal inhibitation or because of extinction, SD with and without relaxation findings are
inconsistant
Effective with simple phobias like spiders. McGrath et al (1990) found that
75% of patients with specific phobias showed significant improvement
Althought the treatment is useful for phobias and anxiety, it is not useful for other mental health issues such as psychosis -
the patient needs to be able to learn to relax and not everyone can do this as their mental health issue may prevent them from doing so
There are both CC and OC conditions are work with SD soo treatment could work because the object is no longer unplewasent and therefore no longer needs to be avoided
hence an alternative explanation of why SD works and the reasoning behind it
Comapred with other therapies like flooding, SD is ethical, as flooding invloves immersing a person with a phobia until they become calm whereas
SD lets patients go at their own pace, when they feel comfortable, therefore the patient has much more control
SD has clear rationale based on CC, therefore is can be easily explained which can give them confidence that the therapy will work which
means it is more likely to be acceptable and it more credible
Capafons et al (1998) showed that SD was successful in overcoming a fear of flying, the programme has 3 phases and the focus was on relaxation by stopping neg. thoughts
while flying, self report data, interviwes and recording biological factors indicated the programme worked with 20 participants compared with 21 in control group
Some argue that you dont need the heirachy or relaxation as systematic exposure in itself is enough to be effective,
research has shown that presenting the heirachy in reverse order does not influence its effectiveness (Marks 1987)
