Systematic Desensitisation

Describe and evaluate this form of therapy

What is a phobia?What is a phobia?An exaggerated fear of an object or

situationAccording to behaviourism, it is a learned

response to a stimulus

Remember Little Albert?

Noise Fear UCR

UCR

CR

UCS

UCS

NS

CS

+RatNoise Fear

Rat Fear

Phobias

• What do people with phobias do when they are confronted with their feared stimulus?

avoidance

• How do you think we can treat this disorder without using drugs or talking therapy?

counterconditioning

An example in everyday An example in everyday life...life...

How Ivan became phobic

of walking in the forest

Work it out...Work it out...

UCR

UCR

CR

UCS

UCS

NS

CS

+

Systematic Systematic desensitisationdesensitisation

This therapy aims to extinguish an undesirable behaviour by replacing it with a more desirable one .

fear relaxation

We cannot feel fear and

relaxed at the same time

This called reciprocal inhibition

How does it How does it work?work?It is a step by step

approach

The client learns relaxations techniques

The client works out a hierarchy of fear from the least frightening to the

most frightening

Fur Paw

Dog

Mouth

The client works through the hierarchy learning to use relaxation techniques in the presence of the feared object

Systematic desensitisation

Counter-conditioning

Reciprocal Inhibition

Desensitisation hierarchy

Task

Apply the desensitisation hierarchy to the following scenario:

Alana has an extremely anxious reaction to spiders. She completely freezes if a spider is in the room, no matter what the size. She even struggles with plastic and cuddly toy spiders. Explain how a behavioural therapist might use SD to help Alana with her fear of spiders (6 marks).

Pair-work (if time)1. Therapist2. PatientThink of a phobia and work through

hierarchy and any techniques below to help the patient.

Using systematic desensitisation

What difficulties do you think this therapy has?

e.g. if someone is afraid of flying – what difficulty will the therapist have?

To the right are some aspects of flying that may cause different levels of anxiety.

Anxiety GradeLow Anxiety 1–19Medium Low Anxiety 20–39Medium Anxiety 40–59Medium High Anxiety 60–79High Anxiety 80–100

Ways to overcome this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQgKEp_NhHk

As the clip rolls, make notes on key psychologists’ namesand examples

IdeasPatient needs to be briefed well, so can give

informed consent. High levels of arousal/ distress possible. Quicker analysis than drug therapy or lengthy psychoanalysis?

Effect might diminish once removed from lab setting and positive reinforcement from therapist, high chance of relapse?

Psychotic, as opposed to neurotic, disorders?

Disorders with no clearly identifiable behavioural component? Genetic/ physiological/neurochemical?

Other behavioural therapies

• Aversion therapy

• Modelling

• Flooding

• Token economy

Evaluation

Use key words below (textbook 118) to write at least 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of SD

Effectiveness

Appropriateness

Symptom substitution

Depends on the type of phobia; some may be biologically based

Phobia workshop – sketch show

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNwUeG-iKE&feature=related