Psychology Test 2 Specific Phobia

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Weekly treatment with homework assignments usually succeeds in 12 to16 sessions. First the therapist helps the patient understand incorrect assumptions and then gradually exposes him or her to the phobia source. Therapist helps the client identify mistaken beliefs and idetinfy realistic risks. For example: People are unlikely to be hit by lightening, and their house will probably not catch fire Secondly comes exposure, or confronting the feared situation. During a thunderstorm, the therapist and patient would go into a house and stand near a window, learning to take acceptable risks that are relatively safe.

General Symptoms 4

When unavoidable, phobic encounters are endured with distress and uncertainty. May require something or someone to provide sense of security. Known as a safety signal or crutch. Specific phobias are the result of an overestimation of a threat and underestimation of ability to cope with it.

Other Phobias

All phobias that do not fit into the other four types. Examples: vomiting, choking, certain foods, contracting a particular illness, other obscure phobias. Other phobias common in adolescents include fear of loud sounds and costumed characters. Experience the same debilitating effects as found with other phobias and require the same types of attention and treatment to overcome and regain quality of life.

Specific Phobia

An irrational fear of a specific object or situation that markedly interferes with an individual's ability to function. Used to be labeled "simple phobia" to distinguish it from the more complex agoraphobia, but there is nothing simple about it. There is no limit to how many phobias may exit- there are as many phobia possibilities as there are objects and situations

Cultural Issues 4

Animal phobias are more common among women (75%-90%) Some studies suggest women are more likely to report specific phobias and to seek treatment than are men. This may be influenced by cultural expectations of masculinity and the stigma associated with men admitting they experience fear, in particular fear of an object or situation that many do not consider to be fear inducing. For height phobias, there are fewer women than men than for other specific phobia types Illness phobias are also more common in men.

Current Research

Disgust and phobia correlation Research continues to prove Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as an effective form of treatment. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy trials, phobic symptoms were shown to be greatly reduced in the therapy group, while the waiting-list control group remained behaviorally unchanged. Brain scans show increased activation in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex in association with specific phobia reactions, whereas a gradual loss of intensity of these brain responses correlates with successful therapeutic intervention. Current research confirms the high prevalence of specific phobias in the general population

Cultural Issues 2

Example: The different reactions of people to spiders. In Africa, not uncommon for people to pick them up with their hands, whereas in the US, we are taught to fear them by example and/or conditioning. Fear of magic is a common phobia around the world.

General Symptoms

Exposure to the phobic object or situation results in feelings of: Anxiety Fear Panic Physiological responses include: Increased respiration and heart rate Muscle tension Weakness Nausea Fainting (Blood-Injection-Injury phobias) Symptom intensity may range from mild discomfort to severe panic attacks

Cultural Issues 1

Family background and genetic predisposition, variations in sociocultural themes, and theories on trauma can influence the development of specific phobia disorder. Example: In our culture, the media focuses on plane crashes as big news so people may develop a phobia of flying. In other countries flying might not be a common subject discussed in the media, so fear of flying is less prevalent.

Natural Environment Phobias

Fear of situations or events occurring in nature. examples: heights, storms, darkness, water. Common for these phobias to cluster together (if have one natural environment phobia, more likely to have another natural environment phobia). Fear in these situations is common since some level of danger associated with them. Phobias develop only in extreme cases. especially common in very young people. peak onset occurs at 7 years of age.

Situational Phobias

Fear of specific life tasks and circumstances, including public transportation or encloses spaces. Examples: small enclosed spaces, flying, elevators, driving. Similar to agoraphobia and panic disorders: onset in the mid-teens to mid-20s. inherited tendency in 30% of first generation relations. panic attacks. big difference is that for situational phobias, panic attacks are specify to the phobic object or situation and never occur outside of that context

Diagnostic Criteria

Marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation Phobic object/situation almost always provokes immediate fear or anxiety in children may be expressed as crying, tantrums, freezing, or clinging Phobic object/situation is actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety Fear or anxiety is disproportionate to the actual danger posed by the object/situation and the sociocultural context Fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, lasting 6+ months Fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning Symptoms can not be explained by another mental disorder

General Symptoms 3

Phobias result in avoidance techniques. Interferes with normal functioning and daily life. Often only seek treatment when forced to face their fear due to social, occupational, or medical issues that make living with the phobia impossible.

General Symptoms 2

Phobics often recognize that fears are disproportionate to the actual threat associated with the object or situation. Feel unable to change their perspective or adjust their response

Cultural Issues 3

Some research indicates that people that are African American are more likely than people who are white to report specific phobias. There is mixed data with regard to socioeconomic level, with some data associating specific phobia disorder with a lower socioeconomic status.

Prevalence

Specific Phobias are one of the most common psychological disorders worldwide 12.5% of the world population suffer from fears severe enough to be considered phobias Prevalence in the US: 8.7% of overall population 15.8% of adolescent population More often diagnosed in women than in men ratio of 4:1

5 Distinct Types

animal phobias, natural environment phobias, blood-injury-injection phobias, situational phobias, other phobias.

Animal Phobias

fear or disgust of animals and/or insects. examples: dogs, spiders, snakes. common, but more intense than just ordinary mild fear, revulsion, or disgust. onset peaks at 7 years of age

Blood-Injection-Injury Phobias

fear or disgust of blood, injury, or other situations where the body is subject to invasive medical procedures or events. sufferers have physiological reactions that are drastically different from those found in people suffering from other phobias. particularly strong inherited vasovagal response to blood. experience marked drop in heart rate and blood pressure. results in fainting. phobia with the most strongly documented inherited tendency runs in families. Is actually a fear of their physiological response to blood, not of the blood itself. don't want to faint. average age of onset is 9 years old.

Medications

have not been considered to be a treatment of choice. Benzodiazepines, however, (medications that slow the central nervous system to ease nervousness and tension) may decrease anticipatory anxiety prior to an individual's entrance into a phobic situation.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy

or insight-oriented therapy. aims to expose and reduce patients' unconscious conflicts, increase patients' understanding of their underlying thoughts, and assist patients to gain conscious control over their psychological conflicts.