Treatment FAQ

which of the following has proven to be the most effective treatment for phobias

by Judah Larkin Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are the most effective treatments. Exposure therapy focuses on changing your response to the object or situation that you fear. Gradual, repeated exposure to the source of your specific phobia and the related thoughts, feelings and sensations may help you learn to manage your anxiety.

Exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are the most effective treatments. Exposure therapy focuses on changing your response to the object or situation that you fear.Oct 19, 2016

Full Answer

What is the best treatment for phobias?

The treatment of choice for phobias is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, specifically systematic desensitization and exposure therapy. Tip#1: In systematic desensitization you rank order a list of those things you are fearful of, say, it’s spiders.

How can cognitive behavioral therapy help with specific phobias?

When it comes to dealing with a specific phobia, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help particularly with a component of CBT called Exposure Response Prevention (also known as exposure therapy). There are manuals that providers can use for treating specific phobias with ERP.

What is the best treatment for agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia can be treated with CBT which has the potential to permanently change pathways in the brain that decrease anxiety and panic feelings allowing the client to function at a much higher level. Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is another effective treatment for social phobia and agoraphobia.

How can I overcome my social phobia?

According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, around seventy-five percent of individuals with specific phobias overcome their fears through CBT, while eighty percent of those with social phobia are relieved through medication, CBT, or a combination of both. Overcome your social phobia – Click the button below!

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What is the best treatment for PTSD?

The recommendations of these two sets of guidelines were mostly consistent. See Table ​Table11for an overview of the “strongly recommended” and “recommended” treatments for adults with PTSD. Both guidelines strongly recommended use of PE, CPT and trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The APA strongly recommended cognitive therapy (CT). The VA/DoD recommended eye movement desensitization therapy (EMDR; APA “suggests”), brief eclectic psychotherapy (BET; APA suggests), narrative exposure therapy (NET; APA suggests) and written narrative exposure. In our discussion of PTSD treatments, we will focus on treatments that were strongly recommended by both guidelines, which includes PE, CPT and CBT. First, we will describe each treatment and evidence for its use and then we will discuss dropout, side effects and adverse effects of these treatments together.

What are some ways to treat PTSD?

A number of psychological treatments for PTSD exist, including trauma-focused interventions and non-trauma-focused interventions. Trauma-focused treatments directly address memories of the traumatic event or thoughts and feeling related to the traumatic event. For example, both Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) are trauma-focused treatments. Non-trauma-focused treatments aim to reduce PTSD symptoms, but not by directly targeting thoughts, memories and feelings related to the traumatic event. Examples of non-trauma-focused treatments include relaxation, stress inoculation training (SIT) and interpersonal therapy. Over the last two decades, numerous organizations (e.g., American Psychiatric Association, 2004; National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2005; Institute of Medicine, 2007; ISTSS [Foa et al., 2009]) have produced guidelines for treatment of PTSD, including guidelines by American Psychological Association (APA) and the Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense (VA/DoD) that were both published in 2017. Guidelines are lengthy and contain a great amount of information. Thus, the purpose of the current review is to briefly review the methodology used in each set of 2017 guidelines and then discuss the psychotherapeutic treatments of PTSD for adults that were strongly recommended by both sets of guidelines. The guidelines recommended several medications for treatment of PTSD, such as Sertraline, Paroxetine, Fluoxetine, Venlafaxine (see American Psychological Association, 2017; VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline Working Group, 2017) however, for the purposes of this review we will focus solely on psychotherapy. The combination of psychotherapy and medication is not recommended by either these guidelines.

What is the APA for PTSD?

In 2017, the Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense (VA/DoD) and the American Psychological Association (APA) each published treatment guidelines for PTSD, which are a set of recommendations for providers who treat individuals with PTSD.

Who wrote the book Psychological sequelae of combat violence?

Galovski T., Lyons J. A. (2004). Psychological sequelae of combat violence: a review of the impact of PTSD on the veteran’s family and possible interventions. Aggression Violent Behav.9, 477–501. 10.1016/s1359-1789(03)00045-4 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

Is there any evidence that trauma-focused treatment is associated with a relative increase in adverse side effects?

When examining the results of large controlled trials there is no evidence that trauma-focused treatments are associated with a relative increase in adverse side effects (American Psychological Association, 2017; VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline Working Group, 2017). Clearly more research should examine and report on side effects and adverse effects of PTSD treatment.

Is exposure therapy effective for PTSD?

As suggested by its strong recommendation by both set of guidelines, there is a large body of research evidence that indicates the effectiveness of exposure therapy and particularly PE. Individuals randomly assigned to exposure therapy have significantly greater pre- to posttreatment reductions in PTSD symptoms compared to supportive counseling (Bryant et al., 2003; Schnurr et al., 2007), relaxation training (Marks et al., 1998; Taylor et al., 2003) and treatment as usual including pharmacotherapy (Asukai et al., 2010). In addition to the RCTs used to determine recommended treatment in the guidelines, several meta-analyses have found that exposure therapy is more effective that non-trauma focused therapies (Bradley et al., 2005; Powers et al., 2010; Watts et al., 2013; Cusack et al., 2016). A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of PTSD found the average PE-treated patient fared better than 86% of patients in control conditions on PTSD symptoms at the end of treatment (Powers et al., 2010). The effect sizes for PE were not moderated by time since trauma, publication year, dose, study quality, or type of trauma. A second meta-analysis, which examined psychological treatments for PTSD, found a high strength of evidence for the efficacy of PE (Cusack et al., 2016). Regarding loss of diagnosis, rates vary across studies. Among PE participants, 41% to 95% lost their PTSD diagnosis at the end of treatment (Jonas et al., 2013). In addition, 66% more participants treated with exposure therapy achieved loss of PTSD diagnosis than in waitlist control groups (Jonas et al., 2013).

Is CBT effective for PTSD?

Consistent with the recommendations of the guidelines, research supports the effectiveness of trauma-focused CBT for PTSD. CBT has been shown to be more effective than a waitlist (Power et al., 2002), supportive therapy (Blanchard et al., 2003) and a self-help booklet (Ehlers et al., 2003). Researchers have compared different components of CBT (i.e., imaginal exposure, in vivoexposure, cognitive restructuring) with some mixed results. Marks et al. (1998) compared exposure therapy (that included five sessions of imaginal exposure and five sessions of in vivoexposure), cognitive restructuring, combined exposure therapy and cognitive restructuring, and relaxation in an RCT. Exposure and cognitive restructuring were each effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and were superior to relaxation. Exposure and cognitive restructuring were not mutually enhancing when combined. Bryant et al. (2008) compared imaginal exposure alone, in vivoexposure alone, imaginal and in vivoexposure, and imaginal, in vivo, and cognitive restructuring. In contrast to Marks et al. (1998), Bryant et al. (2008) found the treatment condition with both exposure components and cognitive restructuring had the largest effect size and resulted in fewer patients with PTSD at a 6-month follow-up. Regarding loss of diagnosis, 61% to 82.4% of participants treated with CBT lost their PTSD diagnosis and 26% more CBT participants than waitlist or supportive counseling achieved loss of PTSD diagnosis (Jonas et al., 2013).

What is the classically conditioned set of steps that leads to common fears and phobias?

A.) Systematic desensitization is the classically conditioned set of steps that leads to common fears and phobias.

Which route of persuasion is the most effective?

A.) The central route of persuasion is the most effective.

What is Silas afraid of?

His therapist has been teaching him relaxation techniques in her office. D.) Silas is afraid of snakes. He and his therapist have made an appointment at a local pet store after hours so that they can go together and Silas can work on his relaxation techniques while holding a snake in the store. B.

Where is systematic desensitization done?

C.) Systematic desensitization is typically completed in a therapist's office in a single session.

Is the central route or peripheral route effective?

D.) Neither the central route nor the peripheral route has been proven to be an effective means of persuasion.

Which is more active, the right or left prefrontal cortex?

The right prefrontal cortex is more active than the left prefrontal cortex when people

What is offensive thinking?

A) offensive and unwanted thoughts that persistently preoccupy a person.

What did Friedman and Rosenman refer to as?

Friedman and Rosenman referred to competitive, hard-driving, impatient, and easily angered

What is Walter's phobia?

Walter has a phobia of elevators. He goes to a psychotherapist, who helps treat the condition by gradually exposing Walter to stimuli that are related to elevators while having him learn to relax. Eventually Walter will be taken to an elevator and encouraged to get on and ride it. What procedure is the psychotherapist using to reduce Walter's phobia?

What are the differences between atypical and conventional antipsychotics?

The three differences between atypical antipsychotics and conventional antipsychotics are that the atypical antipsychotics: (1) act on different neurotransmitters; (2) reduce negative, not just positive , symptoms of schizophrenia; and (3) do not produce the side effect of tardive dyskinesia.

What is Lena's fear of fainting?

Lena has been diagnosed with panic disorder. One of her greatest fears is that she'll faint during a panic attack. Her therapist decides to use cognitive restructuring to help reduce her fear of fainting. To be effective, the therapist would need to help Lena

What is Josef expected to do during his therapy?

During his therapy, Josef is expected to free-associate and to discuss his dreams. Josef is most probably seeing a therapist who specializes in

Why is Priya depressed?

Priya has been depressed for the last year and has been hospitalized for the past three months because she is suicidal. Many of the "first-line" or typical treatments for depression have not been effective for Priya, including cognitive therapy and drug therapy.

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