Outline and Evaluate behavioural methods of treating phobias

A01(6 Marks): Treatment 1 - Systematic Desensitisation (SD) - Anxiety hierarchy – List of situations related to phobic stimulus, rated from least to most frightening. E.g. picture of stimulus= least frightening; touching stimulus= most frightening. Relaxation – Breathing exercises, meditation, or drugs can be used to help a patient to learn how to relax. Exposure – Patient exposed to phobic stimulus in a relaxed state. This will be the final stage, after working their way up the anxiety hierarchy over many sessions. Treatment 2 - Flooding - Exposing people patients to their phobic stimulus with no gradual build up. People tend to quickly learn that their phobic stimulus is harmless once exposed to it, curing them of their phobia through 'extinction' effects. Patients need to give full informed consent before they can participate in a flooding session, as it can be quite traumatic. A03 - 10 Marks - 5 evaluation points:Flooding is unethical - Highly traumatic for some patients. Patients are usually very unwilling to see this type of therapy through to the end and give up straight away. Flooding is cost effective - Flooding is much quicker than any gradual alternatives, like SD. Treatment is much cheaper with only one or two sessions being the norm for flooding therapy. SD is more acceptable - Patients generally prefer this method. Not as much trauma is caused, and although multiple sessions may be expensive, people prefer this as a strategy to get over their phobia. SD is accessible - This therapy can be used for all patients. Factors such as learning disabilities will not affect the level of benefit a patient will get from such therapy. Diverse range of people can be treated. Flooding may not work for some types of phobia - Flooding is less effective for more complex phobias.