AO3

• Systematic Desensitisation:

  Pros:

  • Evidence - Gilroy (2002) followed up on 42 PPTs in an SD spider phobia, at 3 and 33 months, SD group were less fearful than the control group (treated with relaxation, not exposure)
  • Economical impacts - More accepted by PPTs as it has lower refusal rates, wasting less time and effort

  Cons:
• Flooding:

  Pros:

  • Time/cost effective - Flooding is shown to be completed within one session saving time and money for both the patient and therapist

  Cons:

  • Ethical implications - Can cause high anxiety/ stress to patient potentially causing long-term psychological harm
  • less effective - for complex phobias with anxiety/cognitive aspects therefore cognitive therapy may be more effective
• Two Process Model:

  Pros:

  Cons:

  • not all stressful events lead to phobias
  • do not account cognitive aspects of phobias
  • reductionism/determinism