A03

• Systematic desensitisation strength = research evidence for effectiveness

  • research has found SD is successful for a range of phobias - around 75% of patients with phobias respond positively to SD
  • Gilroy et al. (2003) followed up 42 patients who had undergone treatment for spider phobia with three 45 minute sessions of SD
  • a control group were treated using relaxation without exposure to a spider
  • at both the 3 month and 33 month follow up post treatment the SD group were less fearful than relaxation group
• Systematic desensitisation limitation = not appropriate for all phobias

  • researchers have suggested that SD may not be as effective in treating phobias that have an underlying evolutionary survival component (e.g. fear of dark) than in treating phobias acquired because of personal experience
  • suggests SD can only be used effectively in tackling some phobias not all
• Flooding strength = cost-effective

  • studies comparing flooding with other cognitive therapies have found that flooding is a faster, highly effective treatment
  • quick effects mean that patients are free of their symptoms as soon as possible making treatment cheaper - can work in as little as one session
  • Choy et al. (2007) reported that both SD and flooding were effective but flooding was the more effective
• Flooding limitation = traumatic for patients

  • produces high levels of fear and this can be very traumatic for the patient
  • therefore patients are often unwilling to see it through to the end which reduces the ultimate effectiveness of the therapy for some people
  • these individual differences in responding to flooding limit the effectiveness of the therapy
• Behavioural therapies strength = suitable for diverse range of patients

  • behavioural therapies are an effective treatment option for all types of patients as requires little effort on patient’s part
  • CBT requires a willingness for people to think deeply about their mental problems which is not true for behavioural therapies
  • this lack of thinking means the technique is useful for people who lack insight into their motivations or emotions e.g. children or patients with learning difficulties
• Behavioural therapies limitation = symptom substitution

  • may not work with certain phobias
  • if symptoms are removed the cause still remains and the symptoms will simply resurface, possibly in another form
  • e.g. according to psychodynamic approach phobias develop because of displacement - Little Hans
  • in order to avoid symptom substitution the underlying cause of the phobia needs to be treated, rather than just the symptoms
• What are the strengths of systematic desensitisation?

  1. Research evidence for effectiveness
• What are the limitations of systematic desensitisation?

  1. Not appropriate for all phobias
• What are the strengths of flooding?

  1. Cost-effective
• What are the limitations of flooding?

  1. Traumatic for patients
• What are the strengths of behavioural therapies?

  1. Suitable for a diverse range of patients
• What are the limitations of behavioural therapies?

  1. Symptom substitution