phobias

phobia

an anxiety disorder which interferes with daily living

irrational and causes a conscious avoidance

specific phobias

animals, events, bodily, situations

social phobias

social situations, public speaking, parties, meeting new people

agoraphobia

public spaces, leaving home

behavioural characteritstics

panic, avoidance, endurance

emotional chaacteristics

anxiety, fear, unreasonable emotional response

cognitive characteristic

selective attention, irrational beliefs, cognitive distortions

2 process model

classical conditioning, phobia is acquired

operant conditioning, maintains phobia

systematic desensitisation

introducing the feared stimulus stimulus gradually, a behavioural therapy designed to reduce phobic anxiety through reversing classical conditioning

anxiety hierarchy, relaxation, gradual exposure

anxiety hierarchy

list of situations involving the phobic stimulus in order from least to most frightening

relaxations

therapist teaching the client to relax as deeply as possible based on the principle of reciprocal inhibition its impossible to be scared and relaxed

gradual exposure

exposing phobic stimulus whilst relaxed

moving up the hierarchy

SD strengths

effectiveness

used in VR

generalisation

when an individual is fearful of other similar things to their phobic stimulus

flooding

fast process

have to prep client due to it being a traumatic experience

works through extinction

extinction

the conditioned stimulus is presented without unconditioned stimulus until it no longer triggers a response

strengths of flooding

cost effective

weakness of flooding

traumatic