- Immersed in fear - forced to face it
- The patient is meant to form a new association to overcome the phobia
- Initially, they will still feel fear, but the body cannot maintain the fear response. The response subsides (reduces)
- This therapy can cause psychological harm, and if the response is strong enough, physical harm. This causes ethical problems
- As they calm down, they are still in the feared situation, but they are relaxed. This means they form a new association or break the old one.
Systematic Desensitisation
- This is considered more ethical than flooding
- Associations are formed gradually, and they are taught to completely relax
- Relaxation and fear cannot occur at the same time as they are mutually exclusive
- This is achieved through stages
- A hierarchy of fear is created, going from something they can cope with to their worst fear. They must be completely relaxed at each stage before they move onto the next step
Implosion Therapy
- Similar to flooding, but is more ethical as they imagine the worst situation rather than being physically placed in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment