Phobias + Systematic Desensitization

Phobia

an irrational fear of a specific object or situation. To be diagnosed as a phobia, the anxiety must be out of proportion to the actual danger or threat and have been experienced for at least 6 months/a prolonged period of time.

Specific Phobia

a persistent, irrational and intense dear of specific objects or events. To become a specific phobia, it must interfere with a person’s social functioning.

Acute physiological arousal

activation of the sympathetic nervous system/fight-flight-freeze response.

Behavioural characteristics of phobias

Panic + avoidance/

Emotional characteristics of phobias

fear + anxiety

Cognitive characteristics of phobias

irrational beliefs + selective attention

Fear vs Phobia

Fear is a normal emotional response to a real or perceived threat, while a phobia is an excessive, irrational fear that leads to avoidance behavior and interferes with normal functioning.

Systematic desensitization

a type of behaviour therapy that aims to replace an anxiety response with a relaxation response when an individual with a specific phobia encounters a fear stimulus.

What type of conditioning does systematic desensitization apply, and how?

Classical conditioning in a process that involves unlearning the connection between anxiety and a specific object or situation and re-associating feelings of relaxation (and safety) with that particular object or situation.

1st process of systematic desensitization

Relaxation techniques - taught to the individual + are used to decrease the physiological symptoms of anxiety when confronted with a phobic stimulus

Example = breathing techniques, muscle relaxation, visual imagery.

2nd process of systematic desensitization

Fear hierarchy - the individual works with a therapist to create a list of approx. 10-15 specific, feared objects or situations related to the phobia, and ranks them from least to most anxiety producing.

3rd process of systematic desensitization

Gradual Exposure - systematic, graduated pairing of items in the hierarchy with relaxation techniques by working upwards through the hierarchy one step at a time.

• individual doesn’t progress to the next step until they are able to achieve relaxation at each step

• the goal is to reach the top of the hierarchy in a relaxed state

Types of exposure to a phobic stimulus

Direct contact with the stimulus or Imagined contact with the stimulus.

Advantages of systematic desensitization

• specific to the individual

• relaxation skills can helps with other anxiety issues

Disadvantages of systematic desensitization

• time consuming and slow process

• can be difficult in individual struggles to imagine the fears

• not effective on mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia

• requires a positive mind frame from the participant