treatments for phobias

• what are the ethical safeguards of treatments for phobias

  1. researchers will not force a participant into treatment
  2. participant gets decision of which treatment they prefer (SD or flooding) & give consent to take part in the therapy
  3. if flooding is chosen, participant must be fully aware of the stressful nature of it & consent to it before moving forward
• how do we treat phobias

  systematic desensitisation and flooding
• what is systematic desensitisation

  using a structured method to decrease fear towards a phobic object over time - reduce an unwanted response such as anxiety to a stimulus (functional analysis, anxiety hierarcy, relaxation techniques)
• what is systematic desensitisation based on

  based on the concept of reciprocal inhibition - means you cant feel 2 opposite feelings at the same time (e.g: stress and afraid and relaxed at the same time)
• what is functional analysis (SD)

  therapist and client undergo functional analysis - discusses the nature of the anxiety and possible triggers of the phobias
• what is the anxiety hierarchy (SD)

  patient creates a hierarchy of what experiences with their phobia would cause the greatest fear e.g: start from pictures of fear, to videos of fear etc
• what are relaxation techniques (SD)

  patient is trained in relaxation techniques so they can relax quickly and as deeply as possible e.g: use techniques when viewing the picture of fear until calm
• what are the types of relaxation techniques

  progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, deep breathing
• how does SD work

  SD works by going up the fear hierarchy then applying relaxation techniques so patient learns not to be afraid
• what happens over time with exposure

  therapist will gradually expose the client to increasing levels of the phobic condition, until they learn to calm themselves
• when is treatment considered successful

  when patient can stay relaxed in a situation high in the anxiety hierarchy
• strength of SD

  • therapy has been evidenced to be a good form of treatment
  • researchers found that patients receiving SD improve in therapy than those who did not receive treatment - McGrath et al (1990) found 75% of individuals with SD respond to this therapy
  • treatment therefore is useful therapy for phobias improving quality of life of those with irrational fears
• weakness of SD

  • therapy has limitations as it cannot fully treat all phobias
  • fears like: dark, dangerous animals are not affected by SD as these fears are too ingrained in our survival instincts - treatment only effective regrading specific situation or objects (e.g: less effective in treating someone with generalised anxiety disorder)
  • therefore treatment not the most appropriate way to treat a minority of patients
• what is flooding

  overwhelming the individuals senses with the item/situation that causes anxiety so the person realises that no harm will occur (no step by step build up)
• what is extinction

  • individuals are repeatedly exposed in an intensive way to their phobia with no option to escape as phobic stimulus is continually presented.
  • without the option for avoidance behaviour, phobic conditioned response disappears as patient learns that phobic stimulus is harmless so fear is lost
• strength of flooding

  • therapy has been evidenced to be a very fast form of treatment
  • ougrin 2011 showed flooding has been shown to be much faster acting that other therapies for phobias - effective in a single session
  • leads to cost of therapy being lower for the patient and can potentially lead symptom free lives of their phobias faster
• weakness of flooding

  • not effective in treating social phobias
  • most social phobias have a cognitive aspect - patient is not afraid of social situation but also has accompanying unpleasant thoughts/feelings
  • therefore this treatment could only be for some phobias as it only tackles behavioural responses not cognitive aspects
• similarities of SD and flooding

  • patient consciously works to replace anxiety & fear with relaxation
  • both involve direct exposure to object
  • both do not address the underlying cause of the phobia, only how to deal with the anxiety it causes.
• differences of SD and flooding

  • SD - gradual process (3 stages) whereby a patient will visit a therapist over a number of sessions and weeks. flooding - quicker and is usually one session
  • SD - patient can stop when they want to and is taught relaxation flooding - prevents escape and are not taught relaxation
  • SD - patient is in control of how their treatment progresses (e.g: creating their own fear hierarchy and setting the pace)flooding - the patient has much less control over the treatment & there is no fear hierarchy - directly to the object