Phobia treatment

• What are the 2 counterconditioning techniques:

  • Averse conditioning
  • Exposure therapy (systematic desensitisation/flooding)
• Aversive conditioning

  • uses an unpleasant stimulus to stop an undesirable behaviour.
  • Therapists apply this technique to eliminate addictive behaviours, such as smoking, nail biting, and drinking.
• SD treatment support - most acceptible

  • low refusal and attrition rates = economic implications
  • increases the likelihood that the patient will agree to start and continue with the therapy
• Gilroy et al. - Spider systematic dessensitisation (SD)

  • followed up 42 patients treated in 3 sessions of SD for a spider phobia.
  • control group of 50 patients who learnt only relaxation techniques.
  • measured phobias with Spider Questionnaire and observation.

  At both 3 and 33 months, the SD group showed a reduction in their symptoms as compared to the control group
• Systematic desensidesensitizationisation (SD) + learning difficulties

  • Anxiety disorders are often accompanied with learning disabilities
  • such patients may not be able to fully engage with CBT or can evaluate their own thoughts.

  SD would be a good alternative
• Flooding + complex phobias

  Social phobias involve both anxiety and a cognitive aspect i.e. thinking unpleasant thoughts about a situation.

  CBT may be more appropriate - can target causes of the phobia, as opposed to proximal (indirect) causes.
• Ougrin - Cost-effective - flooding


  • compared flooding to cognitive therapies and found it to be cheaper.
  • phobia will typically be cured in one session, thus freeing them of their symptoms and allowing them to continue living a normal life.