Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
The behaviour approach to treating to phobias (Evaluation (Effectiveness…
The behaviour approach to treating to phobias
key terms
flooding - a form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is exposed to (or imagines) an extreme form of the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished.
systematic desensitisation - a form of behaviour therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is gradually exposed to (or imagines) the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished
Systematic desensitisation
Counterconditioning
Patient is taught a new association that runs counter to the original association.
Wolpe also called this 'reciprocal inhibition' because the response of relaxation inhibits the response of anxiety
Relaxation
Focusing on their breathing and taking deep breaths. It helps to relax.
Progressive muscle relaxation is also used where 1 muscle at a time is relaxed.
Desensitisation hierarchy
gradually introducing the person to the feared situation one step at a time so it is not so overwhelming
How does it work?
Step 1: patient is taught how to relax their muscles completely.
Step 2: therapist and patient together construct a desensitisation hierarchy - a series of imagined scenes, each one causing one causing a little more anxiety than the previous one.
Step 3: patient gradually works his/her through desensitisation hierarchy, visualising each anxiety - evoking event while engaging in the competing relaxation response
Step 4: once the patient has mastered one step in the hierarchy, they are ready to move onto the next
Step 5: patient eventually masters the feared situation that caused them to seek help in the first place
Flooding
Step 1: patient is taught is how to relax their muscles completely
Step 2: Patient masters the feared situation that caused them to seek help in the first place. This is accomplished in one long session
Evaluation
Effectiveness of SD
Not appropriate for all phobias
Strengths of behavioural therapies
Individual differences
Effectiveness
Relaxation may not be necessary
Symptom substitution