AO1 - Flooding

• Aim: To use classical conditioning to unlearn a maladaptive behavioural response to a phobic stimulus (feared situation or object)
• 1. The patient is immediately exposed to their most feared stimulus and must stay in its presence
• 2. They will experience high levels of anxiety and panic - they are unable to avoid the stimulus, they remain exposed to it until the anxiety response is exhausted and starts to decrease
• 3. This is known as extinction and the patient learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless