Immediate exposure to a very frightening situation
E.g. a person with arachnophobia might have a large spider crawl over them for an extended period
Flooding sessions are usually longer than SD, often lasting two to threehours
Often only one or two sessions are needed to cure the phobia
How does flooding work?
Without the option of avoidance behaviour, the client quickly learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless
This is called extinction
In some cases the client may achieve relaxation in the presence of the phobic stimulus simply because they become exhausted by their own fear response
Ethical safeguards
Flooding is not unethical but is an unpleasant experience so it is important that clients give informed consent and that they are fully aware of the procedure
A client would normally be given the choice of SD or flooding
