Therapeutic Techniques!

[Lauren9588]

So, I'm a Psych major- and currently nearing the end of a Therapy Techniques Counseling Course... today we were going over the techniques related to Cognitive Behavior Therapy to get rid of a specific phobia. One of the techniques was called, "Flooding,-" Exposing the client to high doses of the feared stimulus in the expectation that this will desensitize them to the feared stimulus." I guess you could say this is similar to exposure therapy- however, in "high doses," of course. Overall, from what I learned this is NOT an effective technique- not even for someone with a simple fear of Spiders- for the obvious reasons that it can cause a heart attack, fainting, and any other physical reaction. I was sitting in class thinking wow, I can't even imagine having to be "flooded" with Vomit- pictures, movies, actual vomit, people vomiting in front of me... all at once. No, this clearly would not work... I think it would make the fear 10x worse. An alternative to "Flooding," which in my opinion sounds like a good technique in regards to CTB, is Systematic Desensitization.

*Systematic Desensitization- "Gradually exposing people to the object of their fears WHILE helping them to relax.
*Used with inappropriate and extreme fears* (EX: Emetrophobia)
*Decreases fear by associating a new consequence with old stimulus*
*Starts with easy situations and moves to more difficult ones*

Strategy for S.D.
*Teach relaxation techniques* (Meditation, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Guided Imagery, etc)
*Create anxiety hierarchy*
*Match anxiety producing stimuli with relaxation*

Now here is an example of what the anxiety hierarchy would look like and how this works.... I will use "Spiders," for this example, but of course apply it to Emetrophobia...

First, you think the least dangerous situation about "Spiders," and gradually move up to the most dangerous situation with "Spiders." You rate these situations 1-10

Example....

10 (Most Dangerous) Being covered in Spiders
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 (Least Dangerous) Talking about Spiders

In between you can add the situations in order of which you could tolerate, such as a movie, picture, seeing one in front of you, touching one, etc.
The key is you stay at each stage until you start experiencing anxiety- when this happens you practice one of the relaxation techniques stated above- once you calm down you move on and continue at that stage until you are able to move up to the next!
Once you get to 10- and are able to do the situation without experiencing a panic attack- you should be cured!.. LOL easier said then done. My professor said this could be a 6 month process- especially with extreme phobias.
Best part is though- you can practice this at home without having to actually go to therapy! However, if you need guidance and assistance it is recommended to see a therapist....


Hope this is helpful! I found it extremely interesting and relatable to Emetrophobia... I need to try it out...

What do you guys think?

Can we think of situations 1(Least dangerous)-10(Most dangerous) about Vomiting? We can create a hierarchy of our own! Which relaxation practices do you all use?

[punchbuggy]

I have heard about this ! I think it works great for people when they are serious about getting better. I think that everyone is effected by emet differently so I don't think a general hierarchy would be suitable for everyone just due to the fact that we all get triggered by diff things.

I think it is a good idea for people to do it individually though when they are ready to do it

[Lauren9588]

Yeah a general one would be too hard to put together for all of us..... I want to try one for myself though. I'm currently practicing meditation!

[punchbuggy]

Meditation is great for lowering g anxiety. Good job! How is is working for you?