The immediate exposure to a very frightening situation
Flooding: A behavioural therapy in which a person with a phobia is exposed to an extreme form of phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus
Flooding sessions are usually longer than systematic desensitisation sessions
Flooding stops phobic responses very quickly
How does flooding work?
Where a conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus - the result is that the conditioned stimulus no longer produces the conditioned response (fear)
Flooding is not ethical per se, so it is important informed consent is gathered
A client would normally be given the choice between flooding and systematic desensitisation
Strength: Flooding
What? Highly cost-effective
Who? Flooding can work in one session, compared to say ten for SD - even a longer session can be more cost-effective
Why? More people treated w/ flooding at the same cost as SD
Limitation: Flooding
What? Highly unpleasant experience
Who? Schumacher - participants + therapists rate flooding as more stressful than SD. Ethical issue of psychological harm - combated by informed consent.Drop out rates also high