Exposing the sufferer to the phobic object or situation for an extended period of time in a safe and controlled environment
Flooding
1. Immediate exposure to the phobic stimulus
2. Bombarding the phobic patient with the phobic object (in-vivo exposure) until the person is calm and does not fear the stimulus, without a gradual build up
3. Flooding sessions are typically longer than SD sessions, one session often lasting two to three hours
4. Sometimes only one long session is needed to cure a phobia
Exhaustion of Phobic Response
Without the option of avoidance behaviour, the patient quickly learns that the phobic object is harmless through the exhaustion of their fear response
Extinction
In classical conditioning terms, the result is that the conditioned stimulus (spider) no longer produces the conditioned response (fear)
Prevention of avoidance
Avoidance behaviours maintain the phobia as the phobic cannot learn that the thing they fear is not harmful
Stopping the phobic patient from making their usual avoidance responses is necessary to prevent reinforcement of the phobia
Ethical safeguards
Flooding is not unethical, but it is an unpleasant experience, so it is important that patients give informed consent
Patients must be fully prepared and know what to expect
Before exposure the client might be trained in relaxation techniques so that they are best able to control their fearful response
