Flooding has been criticised for ethical concerns and violations. Patients are under extreme stress and those with poor health are at risk of collapsing. However, cost benefit analysis justifies these ethical concerns as it is believed that the benefits of the treatment outweighs the costs. On the other hand, systematic desensitisation is considered the more ethical option out of the two as it does not involve such stressful situations and moves at the sufferers own pace and empowers them because they are actively involved.