behavioural approach to treating phobias

Question 1

what is systematic desensitisation

Answer 1

behavoiur therapy designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through classical conditioning
- if a person can learn to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus they will be cured

Question 2

what is counter conditioning

Answer 2

learning a new response to the phobic stimulus

Question 3

what are the 3 processes involved in systematic desensitization

Answer 3

1. hierarchy of needs
   - put together by a client and the therapist
   - list of situations related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety from least to most frightening
2. relaxation
   - The therapist teaches the client to relax as deeply as possible
   - it is impossible to relax and be afraid at the same time so one emotion prevents the other (reciprocal inhibition)
3. exposure
   - client is exposed to the phobic stimulus while in a relaxed state starting at the bottom of the anxiety hierarchy
   - when a client stays relaxed in the presence of the lower levels of the phobic stimulus they can move up the hierarchy
   - treatment is successful when the client can stay relaxed in situations high on the anxiety hierarchy

Question 4

strength of systematic desensitisation

Answer 4

1. evidence of effectivness
   - Gilroy et al (2003) followed 42 poopel who had SD for a spider phobia in 3 45 minutes sessions
   - at both 3 and 33 months the SD group were less fearful than a control group treated by relaxation without exposure
   - review by Wechsler et al concluded that SD was effective for specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia
2. people with learning difficulty
   - main alternatives for SD is not effective for those with learning difficulty
   - people with learning disability struggle with cognitive therapies which require complex rational thoughts
   - flooding may be traumatic

Question 5

what is flooding

Answer 5

• immediate exposure to phobic stimulus
• sessions are longer but only one session is needed

Question 6

how does flooding work

Answer 6

• stops phobic response very quickly
• without the option of avoidance the client quickly learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless
• extinction - learned response is extinguished when the conditioned stimulus (a dog) is encountered without the unconditioned response (being bitten)

Question 7

ethical safeguarding to flooding

Answer 7

• important that the client gives fully informed consent to this traumatic procedure and they are fully prepared before the flooding session
• clients will normally be given the choice of systematic desensitisation

Question 8

strength of flooding

Answer 8

1. cost effective
   - therapy is cost effective if it is clinically effective and not expensive
   - flooding can work in as little as one session unlike 10 for SD to achieve the same result

Question 9

limitations of flooding

Answer 9

1. trumatic
   - highly unpleasant experience
   - provoked tremendous anxiety
   - Schumacher et al (2015) found that participants and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD
   - raises ethical issues of psychologists knowingly causing stress to their clients
   - traumatic nature of flooding mans the attrition (dropout) rates are higher than SD