Eval BA Treatment

• S-SD-found it can be extremely effective in the treatment of specific phobias. Gilroy et al followed up 42 patients who had been treated for spider phobia in three 45 minute desensitisation sessions. A control group was treated by relaxation without exposure. At both 3 months and 33 months after the treatment, the systematic desensitisation group were significantly less fearful than the control group. Shows the effects of SD in reducing symptoms are long lasting. Increase in validity as a treatment
• S-flooding-it is often a more appropriate and time effective treatment than other treatments like CBT. Ougrin compared behavioural therapies to cognitive therapies and found behavioural therapies to be significantly quicker. Some cognitive therapies like CBT require patients to keep diaries throughout their week and also do homework tasks to try and overcome disorders. Flooding procedures in general require less conscious effort on the patient's part compared to psychotherapies where patients must play a more active part in their treatment....
• (S-flooding-appropriate and time efficient)... Shows that patients are more likely to continue their phobia treatment thus showing a lower attrition rate when being treated by flooding compared to psychotherapies. Therefore more patients will be cured of their phobia. Thus flooding can be more effective.
• W-flooding and SD is that they may not address the real cause of the phobia. The treatments have been criticised by the psychodynamic model, claiming that behavioural therapies focus on symptoms and ignores the causes of phobias. Psychoanalysts claim that the symptoms e.g. anxiety are the tip of the ice berg. The real cause of phobias may be traumatic childhood experiences, repressed into the unconscious mind. However, they believe that the behaviourist therapy doesn't deal with these issues, rather it tries to alleviate the anxiety caused by it....
• (W-flooding and SD may not address the real cause of the phobia)... Shows that behavioural therapies may not truly treat patients phobias in the long term. Decreases validity.
• W-flooding is extremely traumatic for patients. Flooding requires the patients to consent to giving up their right to withdraw and can lead to patients experiencing extreme emotion and sometimes physical symptoms like fainting or breathing problems. Problematic because it puts people off the treatment and may mean some patients will not see the therapy through to the end leaving the treatment incomplete. This would waste time and money for people trying to get rid of their phobia....
• (W-flooding=traumatic)... SD could be considered a better treatment as patients are allowed to withdraw at any time but also have control over the therapy. The patient creates the hierarchy with the therapist and is aware of what is happening at each stage, having more personal control making the therapy ethical. W because it means less people will be effectively treated. Decreases suitability to treat all people.