Treating Phobias Flooding AO3 Flashcards
(4 cards)
✅ Why is flooding considered a cost-effective treatment for phobias?
Flooding is cost-effective because it typically requires only one or two sessions, compared to systematic desensitisation (SD), which can take 10 or more sessions. This means that flooding reduces the overall cost of therapy, allowing healthcare providers to treat more patients within the same budget. Clinical evidence also supports its effectiveness for specific phobias, making it both time-efficient and financially efficient.
✅ How does flooding directly target avoidance behaviour in phobias?
Flooding exposes clients to their phobic stimulus without any chance of avoidance, forcing them to experience the full intensity of their fear. Over time, this leads to extinction, where the anxiety response is no longer triggered because the person learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless. This direct approach is highly effective for simple phobias (e.g., fear of heights, spiders).
❌ Why is flooding less effective for social phobias, and what alternative treatment is recommended?
Flooding is primarily effective for simple phobias with clear, identifiable stimuli (e.g., spiders), but social phobias involve complex cognitive components, such as fear of negative evaluation. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which targets irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions, is more effective for social phobias because it directly addresses the thought processes driving the anxiety.
❌ What is symptom substitution in flooding, and what evidence supports this limitation?
Symptom substitution occurs when a phobia is treated with flooding but another anxiety symptom appears. Persons (1986) reported that a woman treated for a phobia of death with flooding saw a reduction in her fear of death but developed a fear of being criticised. This suggests that flooding may simply replace one symptom with another rather than providing a lasting cure.
