What is exposure-based therapy for phobias?
What does this mean? Exposure-based therapies reflect a variety of behavioral approaches that are all based on exposing the phobic individuals to the stimuli that frighten them.
What is the definition of phobia?
a. strong and persistent anxiety related to a specific object or situation. b. significant attempts by the anxious individual to avoid the phobic situation. c. recognition by the person with the phobia that the anxiety is excessive or unreasonable. d. Chronically decreased arousal of the autonomic nervous system.
What do individuals with blood phobias need to learn to do?
Individuals with "blood" phobias must learn to relax their muscles to keep their blood pressure high enough to prevent fainting. c. Exposure-based exercises actually change brain functioning.
How many ways are there to develop a phobia?
According to your textbook, there are at least three ways of developing a phobia. Which is NOT one of these ways? a. Experiencing a panic attack in a specific situation b.
What is the first-line treatment for specific phobia?
First-line treatment for specific phobia is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that includes exposure treatment [8]. Pharmacotherapy, specifically benzodiazepines have a limited role in treatment of specific phobia.
Which of the following seems to be the best treatment for phobias?
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.
What is an accurate summary of specific phobia?
Overview. Specific phobias are an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of objects or situations that pose little real danger but provoke anxiety and avoidance.
What has research repeatedly found to be the best way of treating a specific phobia?
Exposure therapy has been scientifically demonstrated to be a helpful treatment or treatment component for a range of problems, including: Phobias.
Which therapy is used for treating phobia?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often the first-line of treatment for phobia. It can help you overcome the negative automatic thoughts that lead to phobic reactions, teaching you to gradually change the way you think to help you overcome your fear.
What will be the treatment plan for phobia patients?
Specific Phobia Treatment Goals Your treatment goals for specific phobia are likely to be met through the cognitive behavior therapy method known as exposure therapy. During this desensitization process, the therapist will gradually expose you to stimuli related to your fear in a safe and controlled environment.
What is specific phobia?
Specific phobia is an intense, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Although adults with phobias may realize that these fears are irrational, even thinking about facing the feared object or situation brings on severe anxiety symptoms.
What are the symptoms of specific phobia?
Symptoms of having a specific phobia often include uncomfortable and terrifying feelings of anxiety:a feeling of imminent danger or doom.the need to escape.heart palpitations.sweating.trembling.shortness of breath or a smothering feeling.a feeling of choking.chest pain or discomfort.More items...•
How many symptoms for how long are required for specific phobia?
Six months duration: In children and adults, the duration of symptoms must last for at least six months. Not caused by another disorder: Many anxiety disorders have similar symptoms.
Which of the following therapies is most likely to be used for the treatment of phobias such as fear of flying?
Having a phobia is not uncommon: According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 12.5 percent of U.S. adults will experience a phobia at some point in their lifetimes. The most effective treatment for phobias is psychotherapy.
Which behavior therapy technique is commonly used to treat anxiety or fears?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely-used therapy for anxiety disorders. Research has shown it to be effective in the treatment of panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, among many other conditions.
What does the client do when the modeling approach is used to treat a phobia?
Similar to another treatment for phobias known as systematic desensitization, behavior modeling exposes the phobic patient to the object or situation they fear, however, the confrontation is experienced by another person rather than by the patient.
Why are phobias maintained?
From a behavioral perspective, specific phobias are maintained because of avoidance of the phobic stimuli so that the individual does not have the opportunity to learn ...
How long does a spider phobia treatment last?
The treatment usually last a number of hours, and can be administered in one very long session (e.g., one 3-hour session for spider phobia) or across multiple sessions (e.g., three to eight 1-1.5-hour-long sessions). A range of specific phobias respond well to in vivo treatment, although treatment acceptance and dropout can be a problem.
Is systematic desensitization better than in vivo?
Treatment using systematic desensitization tends to take longer than in vivo exposure , and appears to be more effective at changing subjective anxiety than at reducing avoidance. Thus, it is not recommended as the first line of treatment if a client is willing to try in vivo or an alternate form of exposure therapy.
Does cognitive therapy help with flying phobia?
Evidence regarding the utility of cognitive therapy for flying phobia is mixed, and it is not clear that adding cognitive therapy to exposure therapy for other phobia types improves outcomes.
Can a phobia be treated in vivo?
This therapy appears to be useful for phobias that may be difficult to treat in vivo; namely, flying phobias (where repeated plane flights are impractical) and height phobias, but more studies are needed to demonstrate its efficacy for a broader range of phobia subtypes.
What is the fear of panic attacks?
Agoraphobia is defined as the fear of panic attacks occurring in places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing or where help may not be available. These situations can include crowds, going outside the home, or using public transportation and are either avoided or endured with significant personal distress [3]. Agoraphobia can become severely disabling, and more than 33% of patients diagnosed with agoraphobia cannot endure leaving their home environment. Roughly 66% of patients with panic disorder develop agoraphobia [2].
How common is panic disorder in primary care?
In primary care settings, panic disorder prevalence is around 10% , with GAD co-occurring in 68% of patients with panic disorder and in 38.6% of those with major depression [34, 119]. The American Academy of Family Physicians states that rates of missed diagnoses and misdiagnosis of GAD and panic disorder are high in primary care, with symptoms often ascribed to physical causes [118]. One study of older patients with GAD found low rates of anxiety symptom recording (34%) and anxiety disorder diagnosis (9%) despite high levels of healthcare utilization [120]. In the current managed care environment, anxiety is usually treated in the primary care setting, and given the increasing time constraints imposed on primary care providers, it is not surprising that anxiety disorders are under-recognized and undertreated [69].
What is the best medication for panic disorder?
TREATMENT OF PANIC DISORDER. The first-line drugs recommended for the treatment of panic disorder are SSRIs or venlafaxine XR [117] . Research suggests that the largest effect size is found with clonazepam, followed by venlafaxine and fluoxetine [215].
What are the neurotransmitters involved in anxiety?
Alterations in neurotransmitter systems implicated in anxiety disorder pathogenesis include the monoamines serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT), norepinephrine, and dopamine. Aberrant limbic signaling is associated with decreased inhibitory signaling by gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) or increased excitatory neurotransmission by glutamate. Many other neurotransmitter systems participate in the modulation of fear and anxiety, including the neuropeptide substances P, N, and Y; corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF); and endocannabinoids. Abnormalities in these systems are associated with structural and functional alterations in specific brain areas, such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, locus coeruleus, and hippocampus, and represent the therapeutic targets of drug therapy [69].
What are the symptoms of anxiety and depression?
Overlapping symptoms of anxiety and depression, such as sleep disturbance, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating, make differentiation challenging. Depressive disorders are sometimes termed "anxious-misery" when high levels of sadness and anhedonia are present [2]. 8 .
How do safety signals help with anxiety?
Safety signals maintain anxiety over time by preventing direct confrontation of feared stimuli in the absence of "safe" objects/people and by maintaining perceptions of risk/harm and coping inability. Patient use of safety signals can interfere with therapy progress, especially exposure therapy, and are considered anti-therapeutic. However, safety behaviors may be helpful early in treatment by making exposure therapy more tolerable and less threatening [1].
What is safety behavior?
Safety behaviors are coping tactics by persons with anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder, agoraphobia, and social anxiety disorder, to temporarily diminish feelings of threat and reduce one's anxiety level. Safety behaviors can emerge in response to an external (e.g., situations, persons, activities) or internal (e.g., thoughts, emotions, memories) focus of perceived threat and are anticipatory (avoidant) or consequential (escape) [1].