SD

• Research evidence by McGrath et al found that 75% of patients with phobias were successfully treated using systematic desensitisation when using in vivo techniques.

  Further support from Gilroy et al who examined 42 patients with arachnophobia. The patients who had used systematic desensitisation were less fearful than the control group who were only taught relaxation techniques.

  These studies support the effectiveness of systematic desensitisation for reducing anxiety related to a phobia.
• However, the treatment can be criticised for not being effective in treating all phobias. Patients with phobias which have not been developed through a personal experience (classical conditioning) are not effectively treated with systematic desensitisation which uses counter-conditioning to unlearn the response to a phobic stimulus.

  However, this is not possible with certain phobias such as those which are a result of evolutionary survival benefit and not personal experience.

  This highlights SD's ineffectiveness in treating all phobias.
• A strength of systematic desensitisation is its progressive structure as it allows the patient to be in control of the steps taken until the fear is overcome.

  This, including the relaxation techniques, is good because it makes the treatment less likely to provoke abandonment of the therapy which could potentially lead to the reinforcement of the phobia.