Treating phobias

We all have a fear of something that may induce crippling anxiety but people have been able to
overcome these fears.

There are two ways that the behaviorists treated phobias: systematic desensitization and flooding

Systematic desensitization is a form of therapy designed to gradually reduce the phobic anxiety through
the principle of classical conditioning.

There are 3 processes involved in SD:

1. The anxiety hierarchy. It is put together by a client with a phobia and a therapist. It is a list of
situations related to the phobic stimulus starting with the least frightening to the most
frightening.
2. Relaxation. The therapist teaches the client how to become as relaxed as possible through things
like breathing exercises or imagery techniques. This is because it is impossible to feel frightened
and relaxed at the same time.
3. Exposure. The final stage is exposing the client to the phobic stimulus whilst in a state of
relaxation. This takes a while and starts at the bottom of the hierarchy. The client passes each
stage of the hierarchy once they claim to have no anxiety and are able to stay relaxed during it.

One strength of SD is that there is evidence for its effectiveness. Lisa Gilroy et al (2003) followed up
42 people who had SD for spider phobia in 3 45min sessions. It was found that after 33 months the
SD group had less anxiety towards the phobic stimulus than the control group. This means that SD is
likely to be helpful for those with a phobia.

People may choose this form of therapy over flooding as it is less overwhelming where as flooding is
quite overwhelming.

T. Dennis