Behavioral Therapies Phobias Anyone Hungry Learning Outcomes Introduce

Behavioral Therapies: Phobias

Anyone Hungry? Learning Outcomes Introduce Behavioural Treatments of Phobias Identify Main features of Systematic Desensitization Identify Main features of Flooding

Behavioral Therapies: We can deliberately alter human behaviors. Classical conditioning application to create behavior change is called behavioral therapy. Phobias can be treated by systematic desensitisation and flooding. SD aims to extinguish the fear response of a phobia and substitute with a relaxation response to the conditioned stimulus

Systematic Desensitisation: Fear of Clowns clip Uses step by step process to replace the CR with relaxation A hierarchy of feared situations is formed. Theses are either real or imagined. The CS are ranked in accordance to fear rating- most to least feared E. G: 1 - Least feared: Seeing a spider on the bathroom floor. 2 Approaching the spider with a glass. 3 Catching the spider in a glass. 4 Tipping the spider onto a table. 5 - Most Feared: Picking the spider up and putting it out of your front door.

Flooding/ Implosion: Fear of Peaches / Cotton wool Clips Both forced reality testing aimed to produce the extinction of the phobic fear. Exposure to the feared stimulus/ situationthis is continuous and dramatic. Flooding= exposure to most feared stimulus, no building up as in SD. Implosion= fear destroyed internally- subject imagines the feared situation.