Chapter 11 had two main focuses, vivo flooding and imaginal flooding. Anxiety-induction therapies can be thought of as fighting anxiety with anxiety. Flooding is the generic name for prolonged/intense exposure. The ideology behind flooding is to present a anxiety-evoking situation to a client long enough so that they can peak and start to decline. So, for example, if a person was afraid of dogs. A therapist would have the dog in the rooms that the client can reach their anxiety level and then normalize after a while. The two factor theory of the development and maintenance of fear involve classical and operant conditioning. Fear develops through classical conditioning. A neutral even that is not feared is seen as threatening. Once fear is developed …show more content…
For example, if a person was struggling with an eating addiction. The therapist can expose them to the smell of their favorite food to help them with their issue by showing them that they don't have to eat the food. This method is primarily used with substance abuse disorders. Imaginal flooding uses the same principles and procedure used with vivo flooding except exposure is done in the client's imagination. Imaginal flooding can be useful with clients who suffers from PTSD because it is impossible to realistically recreate the even for the veteran. It is also applied to stress disorder related to rape and non-sexual assault …show more content…
Flooding, in vivo and imaginal, are effective treatments but one is not better than the other. However, vivo flooding is thought to be more superior. One drawback of flooding is that it produced discomfort. Therefore, this type of therapy should be based on a cost-benefit analysis. Exposure therapy shares the common procedural element of exposure to anxiety-evoking stimuli without actual negative consequences occurring. Exposure therapy has been proved to be effective on the European-American culture. Flooding have also been proved to be effective on African Americans who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. This chapter was much less interesting than the previous chapter but I learned a lot of useful information. While I was reading I kept thinking about the code of ethics that states that psychologist should not do harm. I can definitely see some harm coming from a person trying to conquer their anxiety, what was even more interesting that the work discomfort was used instead if harm. This made me rethink the definition harm. Personally, I think that flooding was the best intervention. After a while anxiety has to decrease if it permanently exposed to a person for a period of time. For example, if I was afraid of cars and just got the courage to sit in a car, eventually my anxiety would go away because I would then understand that I had a false
In this treatment, “clients are repeatedly exposed to objects or situations that produce anxiety, obsessive fears, and compulsive behaviors, but they are told to resist performing the behaviors they feel so bound to preform” (Comer, 2015). Individuals going through this treatment will often find it extremely difficult to resist the urge to preform these compulsions, or behaviors, therefor the therapist will often be the first to set this example. This treatment can be conducted in an individual, or group
...ype of treatment available for post-traumatic stress disorder patients is psychotherapies. There are various types of psychotherapy that psychologist can use such as exposure therapy, psychoeducation or mindfulness training. In exposure therapy, the patient is recreating the traumatic event help get rid of the fear relating to the event. For example, James Francis Ryan could be put through a session where there was simulation of explosives going off or even airplane engine noises. Research by F.R. Schneier et al., 2012, found that antidepressant medication taken alongside exposure therapy was found to be more effective in treating the post-traumatic stress disorder (Sue, Sue, Sue, and Sue, 2014, p.127). Psychoeducation is also used with exposure therapy because it educates the patient with information about their disorder in order to understand it and cope with it.
The procedures leading to the acquisition and elimination of agoraphobia are based on a number of behavioural principles. The underlying principle is that of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus (Weiten, 1998). Eliminating agoraphobia is basically achieving self-control through behaviour modification. Behaviour modification is systematically changing behaviour through the application of the principles of conditioning (Weiten, 1998). The specific principle used here is systematic desensitisation. The two basic responses displayed are anxiety and relaxation, which are incompatible responses. Systematic desensitisation works by reconditioning people so that the conditioned stimulus elicits relaxation instead of anxiety. This is called counterconditioning. Counterconditioning is an attempt to reverse the process of classical conditioning by associating the crucial stimulus with a new conditioned response (Weiten, 1998). This technique's effectiveness in eliminating agoraphobia is well documented.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form a therapy that is short term, problem focused, cost effective, and can be provided to a broad range of disorders and is based on evidence based practices, in fact it is has the most substantial evidence based of all psychosocial therapies (Craske, 2017, p.3). Evidence based practice are strategies that have been proven to be effective through research and science. One goal of CBT is to decrease symptoms and improve the quality of life by replacing maladaptive behaviors, emotions and cognitive responses with adaptive responses (Craske, 2017, p.24). The behavioral intervention goal is to decrease maladaptive behavior and increase adaptive behavior. The goal of cognitive intervention is to modify maladaptive cognitions, self-statements or beliefs. CBT grew out of behavioral therapy and the social learning theory (Dobson, 2012, p.9). It wasn’t until the 1950s that CBT started to swarm the psychology field. Due to nonscientific psychoanalytic approaches, there was a need for a better form of intervention which ensued to behavioral therapy (Craske, 2017, p.9). Behavioral therapy included two types of principles classical and instrumental. Classical conditioning is based on response behavior and instrumental conditioning is more voluntary behavior (Craske, 2017, p.10). Although there was improvement in treatment, clinicians were still dissatisfied
...s: the nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (2. ed.). New York, NY [u.a.: Guilford Press.
“Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), specifically exposure therapy, has garnered a great deal of empirical support in the literature for the treatment of anxiety disorders” (Gerardi et al., 2010). Exposure therapy is an established PTSD treatment (Chambless & Ollendick, 2001) and so is a benchmark for comparing other therapies (Taylor et al, 2003). “Exposure therapy typically involves the patient repeatedly confronting the feared stimulus in a graded manner, either in imagination or in vivo. Emotional processing is an essential component of exposure therapy” (Gerardi et al., 2010). “Exposure therapy in the virtual environment allows the participant to experience a sense of presence in an immersive, computer-generated, three-dimensional, interactive environment that minimizes avoidance behavior and facilitates emotional involvement” (Gerardi et al., 2010). This therapy has been thought to be more effective because it better accesses people’s emotions to their traumatic event. EMDR is where the participant was asked to recall the memory and its associated and then lateral sets of eye movements were induced by the therapist moving her finger across the participant's field of vision (Taylor et al., 2003).
One of the most famous example of fear conditioning is the Little Albert experiment conducted by Watson and Rayner in 1920. In this experiment, an infant, Albert, was presented with a white rat, and as expected, Albert initially displayed no signs of fear and began touching and playing with the rat. Soon, the experimenters began pairing the presentation of the rat with a loud noise (US) produced by banging a hammer on a steel bar. The noise caused Albert to startle and cry (UR). After several pairing, Albert learned to fear the rat (CS) and would crawl away or cry (CR) when the rat was subsequently presented (Watson and Rayner, 1920)
With this information in mind, I began thinking of my personal experiences with anxiety. On one occasion I went to the emergency room, expressing the inability to breathe and dizziness. It was concluded that I ...
In order to treat the fear you must treat it with relaxation while in the presence of the feared situation. The first step in Wolpe’s study was to focus on relaxing your body. He recommended a process that involves tensing and relaxing various groups of muscles until a deep state of relaxation is achieved (Wolpe,264). The second stage was to develop a list of anxiety-producing situations that are associated with the phobia. The list would descend with from the least uncomfortable situation to the most anxiety producing event you can imagine. The number of events can vary from 5 to 20 or more. The final step is to desensitize, which is the actual “unlearning” of the phobia. Wolpe told his patients that no actual contact with the fear is necessary, and that the same effectiveness can be accomplished through descriptions and visualizations(Wolpe,265). Wolpe’s participants are told to put themselves in a state of relaxation which they are taught. Then, the therapist begins reading the first situation on the hierarchy they have made up. If the patient stays relaxed through the first situation the therapist continues to the next until the state of relaxation is broken. If they feel a slight moment of anxiety they are to raise their index finger until the state of relaxation is restored. The average number
A number of different theories have been proposed to explain how these factors contribute to the development of this disorder. The first theory is experiential: people can learn their fear after an initial unpleasant experience such as a humiliating situation, physical or sexual abuse, or just attending a violent act. Similar experiences that follow add to the anxiety. According to another theory, which refers to cognition or thinking, people believe or predict that the outcome of a particular situation will be degrading or harmful to them. This can happen, for example, if parents are overly protective and constantly alert to potential problems. The third theory focuses on biological basics. Research suggests that the amygdala, a structure deep inside the brain, serves as a communication center that signals the presence of threats, and triggers a response in the form of fear or
One of the classic examples of fear conditioning is the experiment carried out on little Albert by Watson and Rayner (1920). Little Albert was an infant (11 months old), who was conditioned to fear white rats. Initially when he was exposed to the white rat, little Albert would approach it and play with it. After awhile, when little Albert tried to touch the rat, a loud noise (US) was created which would startle little Albert and cause him to cry (unconditioned response –UR). This pairing was repeated a few times. Later on, when the rat (CS) was again presented to little Alber...
Alice Park’s article in TIME Magazine, entitled “The Two Faces of Anxiety”, outlines the key positive and negative effects anxiety can have on both the individual and humanity as a whole. Because of the steady increase in diagnoses of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and similar mental illnesses, evaluating the origins of anxiety as well as its effects are crucial steps for developing both medical treatments and alternative methods of coping with the disorder. While many of the 40 million American adults suffering from anxiety believe that eliminating the feeling altogether is ideal, they fail to consider what psychologists have mounds of empirical evidence in support of: anxiety is not inherently adverse, and can, in many cases, be advantageous. Anxiety is generally understood to be a biological process in which specific symptoms, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, manifest as a response to stressful scenarios. In these potentially-fatal situations, the fight-or-flight response is an evolutionary reaction developed to prevent species from engaging in behavior that could result in extreme negative consequences, while also preparing them for possible conflict. Overall, this response is a constructive adaptation, but an issue arises when individuals face stressful, albeit non-fatal, situations. The body still experiences the same symptoms despite the absence of any “real” danger, and the person suffering from the anxiety feels as though he or she has little control over the behaviors brought on by the condition. Triggered by both genetic and environmental factors, there appears to be a wide variation in the severity of anxiety as well as what treatment methods are effective for each individual. However, many psychologists ...
National Institute of Mental Health. (2010). Treating anxiety disorders. NIH Medline plus, 5(3), 15-18. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/fall10/articles/fall10pg15.html
...first started out with cats being exposed to mild shocks accompanied by specific sounds and visual stimuli. The cats connected the shocks with the sounds or visual stimuli that produced fear in them. When the cats were exposed to the same sounds or visual stimuli plus receiving food instead of shocks, they eventually unlearned their fears. Eventually this behavior therapy would be applied to humans.
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) is also often paired with systematic desensitization. CBT is focused on regaining control of reactions to stress and stimuli, ultimately reducing the feeling of helplessness (Palazzolo, 2014). One specific case of Psychotherapeutic Treatment for Aquaphobia takes a closer look at the break down of how systematic desensitization would be applied. Initially, the patient would be given information on their phobia, making it seem as unthreatening as possible and by showing them that they are not alone, as this disorder is common and that there is a cognitive approach to treat their condition. You first explain to the patient step by step the therapy that is going to take place. You ask them to carefully watch themselves throughout each situation and take notice at what parts they find challenging or lead them to avoidance. It is also suggested that the patients rates her anxiety during those situations on a scale from 1-10. The duration of this therapy would be approximately 13 sessions, meeting once a week for 30-45 minutes. The first three sessions are centered around their life and story of their disability, the diagnosis and the analysis of the disorder while working out a review of each sessions and what their ultimate goal