behavioural

• systematic desensitisation

  • designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through the principle of classical conditioning. If the sufferer can learn to relax in the presence of the stimulus they will be cured. - counterconditioning
  • the anxiety hierarchy - patient and therapist construct a list of situations related to stimulus in order from least to most frightening
  • relaxation: patient taught relaxation techniques e.g square breathing or imagery techniques
  • exposure: patient exposed to stimulus in relaxed state over several sessions - can only move to next stage if they remain relaxed.
• flooding

  exposing patients to phobic stimulus without a gradual build-up. immediate exposure to stimulus. Flooding sessions are longer than systematic desensitisation sessions - 1/2 hours. Sometimes only one long session needed.

  • flooding stops phobic responses very quickly - without option of avoidance, patient quickly learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless. in classical conditioning this is called extinction
  • ethical safeguards: flooding is not unethical - patients give full informed consent and are fully prepared before session. patient can choose flooding / SD treatment.
• systematic desensitisation [AO3]

  + practical application: research shows it is effective in treatment of specific phobias. Gilroy followed up 42 patients treated for arachnophobia in three 45 min sessions. control group treated by relaxation; no exposure. both 3 & 33 months after treatment experimental group were less fearful than relaxation group

  + suitable for diverse range of patients: other treatments for phobias - flooding, CBT are not suitable for all. E.g learning disabilities may prevent deep thinking of CBT.

  + patients prefer it: no trauma - low attrition rates
• Flooding [AO3]

  + it is cost-effective: Ougrin found that flooding is highly effective and quicker than other treatments. This means patients are free of their symptoms as soon as possible - cheaper treatment

  - less effective for some types of phobias: less effective for complex phobias like social phobias. This may be because social phobias have cognitive aspects. CBT more effective in this case. - real-life application

  - treatment is traumatic: though it isn't unethical, it is traumatic. money and time often wasted due to high attrition rates - real-life application