Systematic Desensitization in Treating Phobias and Anxiety - Term Paper Example

Systematic Desensitization Applied to Treating Phobias and Anxiety ical conditioning was a behaviorist theory, the author of which was Ivan Pavlov. It was based on the assumption that learning occurs through interaction with the environment. Ivan Pavlov believed that behavior is shaped by the environment and that taking feelings and emotions into consideration is not helpful in explaining behavior. His theory of classical conditioning takes into consideration the associations between the environmental stimuli and the naturally occurring stimuli. Later, his techniques were used to treat phobias or anxiety problems (Leaman 35). Classical conditioning methods can be used to change behavioral patterns. It is commonly applied in behavior therapy that involves changing behavior through reduction of dysfunction. Systematic Desensitization Systematic desensitization is a behavior therapy technique that was borrowed from the concept of classical conditioning. It is used in the treatment of phobias and behavior problems that involve anxiety. Clients are placed into threatening situations under calm conditions till the anxiety reaction becomes extinguished. At that, they are assisted to overcome their fear of phobia or anxiety causing situations (Brain 29). Systematic desensitization changes phobic behavior by applying learning principles. This happens within a short period. During systematic desensitization, one learns to associate a pleasant relaxed state with a stimulus which gradually triggers anxiety. Fear becomes eliminated by applying counter-conditioning where an unpleasant stimulus is paired with a pleasant response with the aim of eliminating avoidance behavior. One overcomes the maladaptive anxiety by gradually approaching the situation causing fear. (Mayer 241). This is because one gets exposed to situations of fear step by step until one becomes strong enough to overcome his or her fear. This whole process begins with learning how to relax. The process must go on in a psycho-physiological state that inhibits anxiety. This therapy was developed by Joseph Wolpe. Systematic desensitization is referred to as graduated exposure therapy. Flooding Flooding is a form of behavior therapy that is based on respondent conditioning principles. It was invented by a psychologist named Thomas Stampfl. It sometimes is referred to as exposure therapy. It is used to treat anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder. It can also be used in treatment of phobias. It works through exposing patients to painful memories that they wish to avoid. This is done with the goal of bringing back repressed emotions to the current awareness of the patient. A person becomes rapidly exposed to the fear provoking object or situation and he or she is prevented from making the usual avoidance response. Flooding is based on the principle that escape from an anxiety provoking situation reinforces the anxiety through conditioning (Leaman 197). One becomes conditioned to avoid the situation because one is preprogrammed to always do so. It is a faster method in comparison to systematic desensitization. It is considered less efficient and more traumatic. The success of this procedure highly depends upon the ability of a patient to remain in a fear generating situation till he or she is calm and in control of it. In the course of flooding, patients change their behaviors to avoid negative stimuli. There are different kinds of exposure that are utilized for behavior therapy. They include in vivo exposure, imaginal exposure, and virtual reality. Flooding uses in vivo exposure, in the course of which a patient is put in contact with the feared stimulus. A patient is put in a situation where the trauma provoking circumstances are present. The psychiatrist normally offers little reassurance instead of assisting the patient to relax like in the systematic desensitization. Progressive muscle relaxation is the most common technique used in flooding. This is because adrenaline and fear response has a time limit. This means that theoretically a person eventually calms down after the realization that his or her phobia is uncalled for. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Cognitive behavior therapy is generally used to cure those who suffer from anxiety disorders. It is the number one treatment for anxieties and disorders such as deliberate self harm, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders. It is also ranked first as the therapy used to treat agoraphobia, post traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, chronic fatigue, and generalized anxiety disorder. It is relatively easy to learn and deliver and it produces satisfactory results in most instances. Cognitive behavior therapy also known as CBT is a psychotherapeutic treatment that enables patients internalize the feelings and thoughts that influence behavior (Reinecke and Clark 260). It is a short term method and normally it is focused on helping patients deal with a specific problem. During cognitive behavior therapy, people acquire skills in regulating their own behavior. This includes methods of identifying destructive thought patterns and making the necessary changes so as to avoid their negative influences. CBT works on the belief that thoughts and feelings have a role in our behavior. If a person spends a lot of time on thoughts about air disasters, he or she may end up avoiding air travel. Cognitive behavior therapy comes in to teach patients that they cannot succeed in controlling everything about the world around them. They are taught of their capability to take control of their interpretation of the environment. CBT places emphasis on replacement of negative thoughts with positive patterns of thinking. Its main aim is to change how people think; that is why it is called cognitive. It is mainly people’s thoughts and feelings that reinforce or encourage faulty beliefs. These beliefs also result in problematic behaviors that affect various aspects of life. These include family, education, romantic relationships, and work (Reinecke and Clark 261). In order to deal with these destructive thoughts, cognitive behavior therapist normally helps patients to identify certain problematic beliefs. The patient normally gets taught on how thoughts about situations can contribute to maladaptive behavior. This is a self-discovery process. The client then focuses on the behaviors that are contributing to the problem. He or she begins to learn and put into practice behavioral skills useful in real life situations. It is a gradual process applicable to social anxiety situations. As the process is slow, it is easier to handle, and the goal seems easier to achieve. CBT enables the patient to break down their problem into smaller parts that include the physical feelings, the emotional feelings, situation, thoughts, and actions. When this is done, it becomes easier to see how the patient interacts and how this interaction affects the patient. Cognitive behavioral therapy deals with the immediate problem. This is the ‘here and now’ difficulty that the patient is experiencing. It does not dwell on the beginning or cause of the psychological problem in the past. It has instructive nature, and utilizes homework assignments (Reinecke and Clark 264). Dialectical Therapy Dialectical behavioral therapy commonly known as DBT is a method of treatment of borderline personality disorder. It is a therapy that was forwarded by Marsha Linehan. This therapy is the result of the development of the Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning. It still utilizes the formula of behavior change, which Pavlov advocated for. It combines cognitive behavioral techniques for emotional regulation and concepts for reality testing. These include mindful awareness, acceptance, and tolerance of distress (Brain 68). The dialectical behavior therapy takes place in four stages, which are all necessary for the treatment to be effective. These include skills training, therapist consultation, telephone contact, and individual therapy. The first three steps are done individually, while the last step, skills training, is conducted within a group by a behavioral technician. It is applicable to the treatment of patients who have varied behavior and symptoms. These are associated with different mood disorders that may be accompanied by self injury. It is also an efficient mode of treatment when dealing with those that suffer chemical dependency and sexual abuse survivors. The process of DBT works towards having the patient view the therapist as a friend instead of an unwanted enemy during the process of treatment of the psychological issues. Cooperation between the patient and the therapist is necessary for successful treatment. DBT works to create an environment of unconditional acceptance on the part of the patient followed by their willingness to be assisted to achieve normalcy once again. The patient needs to be ready to accept their emotional dysfunction and be willing to get help. Commitment of the patient to treatment is the condition necessary for acceptance and change. It also takes into consideration an interpersonal element which is the client-patient relationship. Mindfulness is also a valuable skill in the administration of DBT. This is because mindfulness helps individuals accept and endure strong emotions. These emotions are experienced when a person is attempting to challenge his or her habits or face upsetting situations. Mindfulness in DBT is concerned with living in this very moment and experiencing all senses and emotions with perspective. Dialectical behavior therapy emphasizes learning to endure pain skillfully (Leaman 49). The goal of DBT is recognition of situations that are negative and the impact that they have instead of getting overcome by your emotions or shying away from them. This enables the individual to make right decisions in different situations instead of engaging in falling into destructive emotional reactions. Application of Classical Conditioning to Phobias and Speech Anxiety People do not necessarily behave like Pavlov’s dogs, but his theory of classical conditioning affects lives one way or another. Most emotional responses to sounds, people, or objects can be narrowed down to classical conditioning. Emotions are extremely powerful forces. They play a key role in the way we act, think, or dream. Emotions are generally above our rational thought process. Classical conditioning can play a prominent role in shaping our behavior. Classical conditioning can lead to positive or negative responses depending on the kind of associations we make. Therapists make use of classical conditioning to enable people to overcome phobias or anxiety problems such as speech anxiety. Classical Conditioning and Phobias A phobia is defined as an extreme fear of a situation or an object. It is generally caused by irrational thoughts. Many people with phobias normally have a sense of endangerment or fear of harm. Phobias are active when such people become exposed to the situations they are afraid of or when they think of those situations. There are several methods of phobia treatment with classical conditioning. The most common method is the use of association through a step by step exposure to the stimulus that causes fear. The stimulus is normally presented in a less threatening way. It is combined with positive or pleasurable experiences such as praise, which is necessary to neutralize the negative experience. Systematic desensitization and flooding are two fundamental methods of dealing with phobias (Mayer 85). Their ideologies are both borrowed from the classical conditioning theory that was proposed by Ivan Pavlov. Their efficiency has been proved in the treatment of irrational fear of things or situations. In both techniques, it is required that the patient should be exposed to the threatening situation. The phobia suffered determines whether systematic desensitization or flooding is used. This is because systematic desensitization is gradual or slow while flooding is sudden and fast. If the phobia causes extreme trauma, systematic desensitization is more effective. This is because flooding has proved to be less effective as regards the treatment of certain kinds of trauma or anxieties. Cognitive behavioral therapy is also a suitable method for dealing with phobias. This is because it is proposed that the fear that one develops is due to negative thoughts that are developed through conditioning. By using CBT, one can be taught how to think positively about situations so as to eliminate phobias. One is taught proper thinking through facing situations that are paired differently as compared to the norm; this helps change attitude. Classical Conditioning and Speech Anxiety People who have the fear of speaking in public learn this fear from post traumatic social experience. Using classical conditioning, one can be reprogrammed to be calm when speaking in front of people. This process is known as systematic desensitization. Systematic desensitization is the construction of an anxiety hierarchy and desensitization. Through this therapy, one learns to cope with high levels of anxiety by being gradually exposed to the source of stress, which is fear of crowds. People are trained to move from less threatening situations to situations provoking high anxiety (Brain 189). The patient is advised to never move to the next scenario until his or her body has relaxed. This was a method that Pavlov used with the dogs. He never moved to the next training until the dogs had mastered one concept and extinguished the reaction. The process should not be rushed. Cognitive behavioral therapy can also be used to teach a patient relax his or her body. The patient is taught how to eliminate his or her negative thoughts about crowds. Clarifications are made of irrational misconceptions about crowds that cause speech anxiety. Effective Treatment in Dealing With General Anxiety Disorder or Social Anxiety Generalized anxiety disorder is a disorder characterized by uncontrollable, excessive, and normally irrational worry about life. This worry is usually has no connection with its real source. It ends up interfering with one’s daily life because the sufferer typically awaits disaster at any given time (Leaman 26). Individuals exhibit physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, muscle tension, numbness in hands and feet, swallowing problems, insomnia, and hot flashes and rashes. They become unable to control the anxiety. Social anxiety also known as social phobia is defined as an unreasonable fear of social situations. People suffering from these disorders have an intense fear and self-consciousness caused by a fear of getting judged, watched, and criticized by others. People with social anxiety disorder normally have the fear that they will make mistakes, be embarrassed, or look awful in front of others. As a result, many with this disorder opt to avoid social situations altogether (Reinecke and Clark 261). When they are forced to endure certain situations, the normal reaction is a panic attack accompanied by breathing problems. Many are normally aware that their fear is unreasonable, but they are still unable to overcome the fear. Treatment Cognitive behavioral therapy is the best method for dealing with generalized anxiety disorder. The therapists work with the patient to make him understand how his feelings and thought influence his behavior towards certain situations. The goal of CBT is to alter the negative thoughts that lead to the patient’s anxiety. These negative thought patterns are replaced with more positive realistic ones (Reinecke and Clark 270). Specific elements of the therapy involve exposure strategies to give a patient a chance to gradually face their anxieties and feel comfortable in the fear-provoking situations. After reaching success in the course of the treatment, the patients are expected to use the skills that they have learned. This is normally effective because even when the undesirable situation is not eliminated, a patient learns ways of stress reduction and gains more control over his or her life. Cognitive behavior therapy is also the primary method used to deal with social anxiety disorder. In this situation, it can is administered either individually or in groups. This is immensely effective in dealing with social anxiety disorder because negative thinking maintains social anxiety. These negative thoughts should be addressed and dealt with. One also is taught self-help strategies that help reduce the frequency of negativity. Individuals are taught how to reduce maladaptive assumptions concerning themselves and their social environment. These are usually learned behaviors which become activated when social situations become encountered. Cognitive therapy in treatment of social anxiety also incorporates the exposure method (Leaman 98). This systematically works as it helps one learn tactics he or she can use to face the situations that they fear the most. Cognitive therapy is the most effective method of treatment of both general anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder. This is because both of them are caused by irrational thoughts, which can be clarified by this form of treatment. Systematic desensitization, flooding, cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectical therapy are all forms of classical conditioning. They can be used in dealing with phobias and anxieties. The most commonly used therapy is systematic desensitization (Leaman 76). This is because of its gradual nature which makes it particularly effective in treatment of phobias or anxieties. Cognitive behavior therapy has also been proven effective because it helps people change their negative patterns of thought to positive. These therapy methods also utilize the exposure method which is advantageous for conditioning. When negative stimulus is paired with positive stimulus, the eventual outcome is a positive reaction and the extinction of the negative reaction after several pairings. Works Cited Brain, Christine. Advanced Psychology. North Wales: Nelson Thornes, 2002. Print. Leaman, Thomas L. Healing The Anxiety Diseases. Cambridge: Perseus Books Group, 2002. Print. Reinecke, Mark A. and David A. Clark. Cognitive Therapy Across the Lifespan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print. Mayer, Diane Peters. The Everything Health Guide to Controlling Anxiety. New York: Everything Books, 2005. Print. Read More