behav app to treating phobias

• flooding

  person immersed in experience in one long session, experiencing phobia at its worst until anxiety is gone. in vivo (actual exposure) or virtual reality
• flooding rational

  fear response (and underlying release of adrenaline) has a time limit. as adrenaline naturally decreases, feared stimulus now associated with non anxious response
• who did systematic desensitisation (SD)

  Wolpe
• SD - counterconditioning

  P taught new association which counters og through classical conditioning - desensitised. reciprocal inhibition - relaxation response inhibits anxiety response
• SD - relaxation

  relaxation techniques taught. eg. breathing, mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation
• SD - desensitisation hierarchy

  introducing person to feared situation one step at a time so not overwhelming. each stage, p practices relaxation so situation becomes familiar and less overwhelming = less anxiety
• SD - not appropriate for all phobias

  Ohman et al suggest SD not effective treating treating phobias with underlying evolutionary component (eg. heights). only in those based on personal experience. only effective for some
• flooding - indv diffs

  not for everyone. can be v traumatic. made aware before, may quit during procedure anyway, which reduced ultimate effectiveness of therapy. limit
• behav therapies are usually relatively faster, cheaper either less effort required from patient

  eg. CBT requires patient to think about their problem, not needed for behavioural therapies. useful for those lacking insight into their motivations or emotions (eg children). and can be self administered
• not for certain phobias as symptoms are only tip of iceberg

  cause still remains so symptoms may return maybe in another form (symptom substitution). eg. freud in psychodynamic approach did case of little hans - scared of horses due to envy of father and projection onto horse. cured when father feelings accepted. importance of treating underlying causes