Phobias: treatments - flooding

Question 1

What does flooding involve?

Answer 1

A sudden, extreme exposure to the phobic stimulus without any prior build up or gradual stage by stage approach

Question 2

Does flooding place the patient in a calm state?

Answer 2

No, and they do not practice relaxation techniques

Question 3

How long does flooding take?

Answer 3

May take one session lasting a few hours

Question 4

What is the sudden exposure to the phobic conditioned stimulus designed to do?

Answer 4

Extinguish the fear

Question 5

What is extinction?

Answer 5

Suggests that when a person is exposed to a feared stimulus repeatedly and for a prolonged period without any negative consequences occurring, their fear response will diminish

Question 6

Evaluate flooding (economic implications)

Answer 6

Cheap compared to other forms of phobia therapy.
Sessions are usually longer but fewer sessions are needed than SD
This means it is cheaper for the patient
Cost effective therefore beneficial economic implications

Question 7

Evaluate flooding (ethics)

Answer 7

May be traumatic for the patient
Despite informed consent it may be ethically compromised
Schumacher et al (2015 - both patients and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD
Therefore therapy may lack ethical validity

Question 8

Evaluate flooding (complex phobias)

Answer 8

Less effective with more complex phobias such as social phobias
Social phobias involve a variety of different interpersonal interactions dependent on the occasion.
To be able to navigate the different demands of social events takes some skill and training which flooding cannot provide.

Question 9

Evaluate flooding (effectiveness)

Answer 9

Kaplan (2011): 65% of patients who had one session for flooding for a specific phobia showed no symptoms 4 years later.