the behavioural approach to treating phobias L4

• Who developed the technique of systematic desensitisation?

  Joseph Wolpe
• What is the main purpose of systematic desensitisation?

  To gradually introduce phobias to the feared stimulus
• What did McGrath et al. (1998) find about the effectiveness of SD?


  About 75% of patients respond to SD
• Which technique is reported to be more successful in systematic desensitisation?

  In vivo techniques
• What relaxation technique might patients learn in SD?

  Slow breathing
• What is involved in the hierarchy of phobic situations?

  From least to most feared situations
• What happens when the patient imagines the least feared scene while relaxing?

  Fear is desensitised when no anxiety is experienced
• How does the therapist and patient progress through the hierarchy?

  In a systematic way until no anxiety is felt
• What is flooding in the context of phobia treatment?

  A single exposure to the most feared situation
• What is the goal of flooding therapy?

  To extinguish the fear response
• What did Crashe et al. (2008) conclude about SD and flooding?


  Both were equally effective in treating phobias
• What is a potential drawback of flooding therapy?

  It can be highly traumatic for patients
• What is a key characteristic of behavioural therapies for phobias?

  They are generally faster and cheaper
• What is a new stimulus-response link in behavioural therapy?

  The feared stimulus is associated with a non-anxious response
• How do flooding and systematic desensitisation relate to classical conditioning?

  Both are forms of classical conditioning