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Recommended: ABSTRACT ON PHOBIAS
Everyone in life has fears, it’s a natural way our brains process certain objects or situations that may be dangerous. Common fears may be heights or spiders; some would rationally go out of their way to avoid these, but this is quite different from having a phobia. A phobia is an irrational distress with a particular object or concept/idea. Although fears are well known now, they do not have to disrupt the lives of those who are living them. Throughout the essay there will be three different treatments with three different phobias in ways to cure a phobia; the first is a trauma-focused treatment approach for travel phobia, assessment and treatment for childhood phobias, and hypnosis in facilitating clinical treatment of injections.
Several people today suffer from travel phobia, yet there is little data regarding the phobia. The purpose of this study was to review the usefulness of a trauma-focused treatment approach for travel phobia from a cognitive behavioral therapy. Such technique used for the study was Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for a 184 person case from a rehabilitation provider. The reasoning for these particular tests was to enact a full body approach where as it tested all stimulated to the body instead of just one part. This was interesting because instead of focusing on the brain and how it functions, it focuses its method on full body awareness and really having the body get involved when consulting a phobia. A method that is somewhat controversial is using in vivo exposure; this refers to the direct confrontation with the stimulus of fear (object, activities, or situations). In vivo exposure is less strong as some might want to admit. This type of methods is only beneficial for certain pho...
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...perating hypnosis.
Reviewing three different methods of treatment of phobias there are several options to take into consideration from standard treatment such as in treatment study two or a more unusual treatment such as hypnosis.
Works Cited
de Jongh A, Holmshaw M, Carswell W, van Wijk A. Usefulness of a trauma-focused treatment approach for travel phobia. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy [serial online]. March 2011;18(2):124-137. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 12, 2013
King, N. J., Muris, P., & Ollendick, T. H. (2005). Childhood Fears and Phobias: Assessment and Treatment. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 10(2), 50-56. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2005.00118.x
Medd, D. Y. (2001). FEAR OF INJECTIONS: THE VALUE OF HYPNOSIS IN FACILITATING CLINICAL TREATMENT. Contemporary Hypnosis (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 18(2), 100
Agoraphobia can be divided into two word parts: agora, a Greek term meaning “marketplace” and phobia, meaning “the fear of something” (Miller, 2011). It is the fear of being in a communal or open place (Miller, 2011). When people have agoraphobia, they often evade situations that may cause them to panic, such as crowded places, leaving a common place, being unaccompanied, or being confined or humiliated (“Agoraphobia,” 2011; “Agoraphobia,” 2014). People often become imprisoned in their own home because they do not feel safe in public places or crowded places, such as malls, planes, sporting events, elevators, or public transportation (“Agoraphobia,” 2011). Initiating treatment can be difficult because it means facing the fear, but a combination of therapy and medicine can reduce the symptoms substantially (“Agoraphobia,” 2011; Miller, 2011).
Just imagine for a moment that you have a cynophobia or the fear of dogs, would this be how you would feel. Driving down the road the oil light comes on. "I must stop the car to add more oil or I will damage the car engine. This looks like a good place to pull over. I'll just stop in front of this house. The oil is in the trunk, so I'll pop the top first, then get the oil out of the trunk. OK, I have the oil, but what if there is a dog at this house. Hurry, I have to hurry. A dog might come running out and bark at me any minute. Just get the oil in the engine. I can't my hands are shaking. Don't worry, there is no dog. Just get the oil in the engine. I don't care if I spill it, just get some in the engine. Take another look around, is there a dog anywhere. OK, the oils in, now hurry get back in the car. I can't breath. I'm safely back in the car, now just take a minute and breath. When will my hands stop shaking." This is how a person with a phobia of dogs might feel. There is no dog around anywhere in sight, but the thought of a dog running at them barking is enough to cause a panic attack. In "Exploring Psychology" David G. Myers defines phobia as "an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation" (432). This paper will explore the history, causes, effects, and treatment of Phobias.
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.
Characteristics of agoraphobia are a marked fear or anxiety about two or more of the following: "using public transportation" like cars, planes, trains, and buses; "being in open spaces" like a market, a parking lot, a bridge, or ship; "being in enclosed places" like a store, a theater, or an elevator; "standing in line or being in a crowd"; or "being outside of the home alone." (APA, 2013, pg 217) This fear differs from other phobias in that the fear is not the specific place or thing, but the person is afraid that they might not be able to leave or get help if they panic or are incapacitated or have embarrassing symptoms or situations. This might be because of other medical conditions such as vomiting or inflammatory bowel symptoms. Older adults might fear falling. Children might fe...
One of the characteristics of a phobia is a feeling that is greater than the fear of a situation or object with an exaggeration of the danger associated with the said situation or even object. This persistent fear often leads to an anxiety disorder that leads an individual to develop mechanisms that ensure one avoids the object or situation that triggers the occurrence of the phobia. Phobias can have highly debilitating effects on an individual including the development of depression, isolation, substance abuse, and even suicide. Many people take phobia for granted however, it is clear that it has the potential to impair the quality of life for both the affected and the people around them. The fact that many of the phobias are manageable using
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
Beyond the systematic and in vivo desensitization treatments, there are other procedures that may be used to treat fears. These include flooding, where an individual is exposed to the fear producing stimulus at full intensity for a lengthy time, and modeling-which involves watching another individual perform an act when faced with the object of fear; this method is generally more effective with children (Miltenberger,
On my cell phone, I found an application that uses a type of meditation and hypnosis to help with fears and phobias called Harmony - Hypnosis Meditation. I downloaded this application to see what sort of phobias that can be helped and I found that it can help with things from the fear of spiders, the fear of being alone, public speaking, water, driving, and agoraphobia which is the extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public spaces. Harmony utilizes hypnotherapy in each category and video and I found that it is more of a calming way to change the way you think about the phobia, change the way you feel about it, and eventually create a coping mechanism in the mind to find a rational way to deal with the fear. I found it very
For example, during relaxation training, the client could be instructed to practice relaxing all the body parts she has learned so far once a day. The client could also be assigned to use progressive relaxation while feeling anxious at least once before the next session. This continued practice would help reinforce the client’s ability to replace anxiety with relaxation. Overall, the primary focus, or essential component, of systematic desensitization is having the client experience repeated, safe exposure to anxiety-evoking situations that does not result in any negative consequences. However, the facilitative components, gradual exposure and competing response, are beneficial due to the severity of the client’s phobia (O'Donohue & Fisher, 2009; Spiegler,
Though the nausea associated with the drug and mental imaging can deter patients away from alcohol and other substance abuse it does not eliminate the withdrawal symptoms associated with the cessation of using a substance. Although the disulfiram drugs can help prevent relapse, clients will still experience dependency symptoms. It is best that the disulfiram is combined with other treatments to be most effective. Another drawback of this research is that it can be considered unethical from some critics. The act of making clients induce their own sickness to stop a behavior could be detrimental to the patient’s health. The same goes for the administering of electric shock. In the past, it was not uncommon for electric shocks to be used on homosexual patients. This treatment is considered unethical because of the negative stigma around it from harming people in the past. It is also important to notice that these treatments may only be addressing the negative behavior instead of the underlying motivation behind the clients’ urges. It can be easy for the client to then just substitute the undesirable behavior with another one. Another point raised is that aversion therapy will not work on its’ own. Taking drugs to reduce the effects of a negative behavior usually results in clients dropping out of the treatment. Treatment may not always work. In learned behavior, extinction can sometimes occur that
Does Claustrophobia cause people to deviate from confined areas? The independent variable is claustrophobia, and the dependent variable is the confined areas. Our hypothesis to this question is yes claustrophobia can be cured and reduced by cognitive behavioral therapy. The issue of claustrophobia is very important due to its impact on an individuals everyday life, since it affects a number of individuals throughout the world. A phobia is an anxiety disorder that is shown by an irrational fear of confined spaces. This phobia can cause a person to stay away form confined spaces such as a crowded store, sporting and social events, as well as elevators that could bring on this irrational fear. In society this can cause a person not to take part in certain events. This phobia can also lead to the interference with riding on public transportation such as a plane, train, bus or subway. In this our findings will be evident by the research provided. Each of these specific statements below, will help draw a conclusion about claustrophobia: 1) Fear of Restriction and Suffocation 2) The Reduction of Claustrophobia(Part 1) 3) The Reduction of Claustrophobia (Part 2) 4) Virtual Reality Treatment of Claustrophobia Claustrophobia 2 Fear of Restriction and Suffocation Claustrophobic fear is a combination of the fear of suffocation and the fear of confinement. The view on this topic is supported from the responses from a questionnaire done before, during, and after a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan was performed. Patients who successfully completed a MRI scan found they experienced fear of confinement not suffocation. These MRI scans were done in long narrow cylindrical chambers, which are dark and restrictive as well as noisy. Although you are not in a sealed chamber, you can literally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some other chambers that were used in other experiments were enclosed, and restrictive which leads the patient to believe that there is the possibility of suffocation. This study was performed over a three-week period on an outpatient basis at two teaching hospitals. There were seventy-eight people involved in this study, twenty-three males, mean average 51.61 years (S.D.=20.0), as well as fifty-five females, mean age 45.67 years (S.D.=15.3). They collected research data on three different occasions using the F.S.S. (fear survey ...
Such as, how far is to far when you speak about the physical and mental harm that is acquired by the patient? Which method of treatment should be used for corresponding behavioral problems and habits? How effective will the therapy be long term? Is Aversion therapy right, or wrong? In my opinion, I think that Aversion therapy is the right thing to do in certain circumstances. With any type of therapy, it is important that all options are discussed with the patient. With any type of therapy or treatment there are going to be side effects. It is up to the patient to determine if the side effects out weigh the potential success of any method of therapy. From the research that I have done, if Aversion therapy was an option I would start with the electrical shock treatment. Electrical shock treatment of Aversion therapy is the easiest type of treatment to control and can be administered to ones self safely along with being the most cost efficient method of therapy. Overall, I see no reason as to why Aversion therapy should not be administered to those who would like to purge what ever behavior or habit they would
In conclusion, phobias are a big part of many people’s lives these days and a growing medical condition. People do not realize how badly phobias can affect their lives so they don’t receive medical attention. There are no cures for phobias but there are treatments which will help the phobic get over their fear. I personally believe that if people care enough about their lives, they will treat their phobias. Phobias can totally alter your life so if you have any of the symptoms I have listed above, please go and get treatment.
Treatment is available and extremely helpful for those suffering with a phobia. Medications and therapy both work well in the majority of cases. In a majority of cases a portion of the therapy is dedicated to causal exposure to the phobia. The exposure is gradually increased until the individual is comfortable in the situation without experiencing an anxiety attack. Group therapy is also beneficial as the individual is exposed to other suffering through the same fears.
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