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Results for “Desensitization, Psychologic”

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PubMed1993

The reduction of claustrophobia--II: Cognitive analyses.

A clinical experiment comparing methods of fear reduction in claustrophobia was used as the basis for analysing the relationships between a number of cognitive variables and the reduction of claustrophobia. Both the number and believability of negative cognitions present were associated with fear reduction and return of fear; this was also found when considering the number of body sensations experienced. High fear and panic were always accompanied by these phenomena whilst zero fear was never reported in the presence of believable cognitions and body sensations. An absence of believable cognitions post-test was accompanied by an absence of claustrophobia in 10/13 subjects. Specifically, removal of belief in any of the cognitions "I will be trapped", "I will suffocate" and/or "I will lose control" was associated with removal of belief in all the other cognitions and a dramatic reduction in claustrophobia. Belief in one of these central cognitions was associated with the maintenance of fear. We conclude that it is possible to conceptualize claustrophobia as comprising a number of cognitions centred on key thoughts of trappedness, suffocation and loss of control.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Effect of distraction and coping style on in vivo exposure for specific phobia of spiders.

Recent studies have generated mixed findings regarding the effects of distraction on exposure-based treatments. Results have also been inconsistent regarding the effects of monitoring and blunting coping styles on outcome. The present study attempted to integrate these two areas of research. We hypothesized that the effect of distraction on treatment outcome might depend on coping style. Specifically, we predicted that for blunters (i.e.. individuals who tend to avoid threat-related information), distraction would interfere with the effects of exposure. However, we predicted that distraction might benefit monitors (i.e., individuals who tend to seek out threat-related information). Sixty individuals with a specific phobia of spiders underwent a single, two-hour session of exposure treatment. During the first hour, half of the participants were distracted by listening to an audiotape and the other half underwent exposure without distraction. In the second hour, all participants underwent focused exposure. Based on measures of heart rate, subjective fear, and behavioral testing, participants improved after one hour of treatment, and improved further during the second hour. However, neither distraction, coping style, nor their interaction had a significant effect on outcome. The present study provides support for the benefits of behavioral treatment for specific phobias. However, our hypotheses regarding distraction and coping style were not confirmed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Cue exposure with coping skills treatment for male alcoholics: a preliminary investigation.

Although early investigations were promising, no controlled follow-up studies have investigated the effectiveness of cue exposure treatment for alcoholics. In this study, inpatient alcoholics received either cue exposure integrated with urge coping skills training (CET, n = 22) or a contrast condition (CC) involving daily contact with assessment only (n = 18) in addition to standard treatment. Comprehensive assessment measures were used to investigate change in process and outcome variables. In the second 3 months after treatment, the CET group included more patients who were completely abstinent, had a higher percentage of abstinent days, and tended to report fewer drinks per day than did patients in the contrast condition. The significantly greater use of coping skills during follow-up by the CET group and the significant relationship of these coping skills to decreased drinking suggest that treatment effects were due, at least in part, to the coping skills training, consistent with recent formulations. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Cognitive mechanisms of social anxiety reduction: an examination of specificity and temporality.

Cognitive theories posit that exposure-based treatments exert their effect on social anxiety by modifying judgmental biases. The present study provides a conservative test of the relative roles of changes in judgmental biases in governing social anxiety reduction and addresses several limitations of previous research. Longitudinal, within-subjects analysis of data from 53 adults with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) social phobia diagnosis revealed that reductions in probability and cost biases accounted for significant variance in fear reduction achieved during treatment. However, whereas the reduction in probability bias resulted in fear reduction, the reduction in cost bias was merely a consequence of fear reduction. A potential implication is that exposure-based treatments for social anxiety might focus more attention on correcting faulty appraisals of social threat occurrence.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Cognitive-behavioral treatment of obsessions.

Three patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder whose major complaints were obsessional thoughts with cognitive neutralization as opposed to overt rituals were treated with a cognitive-behavioral package. Cognitive neutralization involves both cognitive rituals and a variety of less ritualized coping strategies all designed to remove the thought and decrease discomfort. In a departure from earlier case studies, the patients were treated in a multiple baseline design across subjects. All three patients reported decreased discomfort and improved their professional and/or interpersonal functioning. Gains were maintained at follow-up (8 to 11 months).

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

Eye movement desensitisation treatment utilises the positive visceral element of the investigatory reflex to inhibit the memories of post-traumatic stress disorder: a theoretical analysis.

BACKGROUND: Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) has attracted controversy and has led to publications covering a wide range of psychological problems treated by EMDR, in particular, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There is growing clinical evidence of the effectiveness of EMDR, but a lack of a convincing theoretical basis to explain its rapid effect. METHOD: This paper argues that a combination of Pavlovian and Darwinian theory provide a theoretical explanation for the therapeutic effectiveness of EMDR. RESULTS: We suggest that the investigatory component of the orienting reflex is an evolutionary development enabling organisms to assess their environment for both opportunities and threats. We propose that EMDR is rapidly effective because it is a clinical method of Pavlovian conditioning by which the positive visceral element of the investigatory reflex can be paired with clinically-induced noxious memories to remove their negative affect. CONCLUSION: Compared with established forms of treatment for PTSD, EMDR is rapid, with resulting clinical and economic benefits. Our suggested theoretical basis for EMDR has implications for further explanatory research and for developments in EMDR treatment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral therapies for substance abuse.

The authors review more than two decades of research in the use of behavioral interventions for the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse. This survey covers major areas of research activity, including the use of aversive stimuli (chemical, electrical, and covert), skills training, contingency management, extinction/desensitization, and combined behavioral treatments. The reviewers conclude that while many of these treatment interventions hold promise, few have been fully explored with the use of properly controlled group studies. Suggestions are offered which may facilitate research and aid in the evaluation of behavioral interventions for substance abuse.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1995

Exposure therapy outcome in spider phobics: effects of monitoring and blunting coping styles.

The present study examined whether monitoring (i.e. seeking out threat-related information) and blunting (i.e., avoiding threat-related information) coping styles affect therapy outcome. The sample consisted of 36 spider phobics who underwent one 2.5 hr session of exposure in vivo. Monitoring and blunting were assessed with the Miller Behavioural Style Scale (MBSS) at two points in time: before and after (i.e. at 2 years follow-up) treatment. It was found that coping styles did not change dramatically over a 2-year period. Furthermore, pre-treatment and follow-up coping style scores essentially produced the same results: monitoring was associated with less favourable therapy outcome, whereas blunting was related to better treatment results.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Ruminative coping and post-event processing in social anxiety.

Cognitive models of social anxiety implicate various factors in the initiation and maintenance of socially anxious states, including anticipatory processing, self-focused attention and post-event processing. The present study focused on post-event processing, which is a post-mortem analysis following a social event that is described as ruminative in nature and serves to maintain social anxiety. Participants (N=112; 64 women, 48 men) were presented with vignettes that involved making mistakes in public and were instructed to record their thoughts to allow for the examination of the content of post-event processing. Ruminative coping and distraction were assessed via self-report. Results indicated that participants high in social anxiety (n=55) were more likely to ruminate and less likely to distract when faced with socially anxious stressors compared to those low in social anxiety (n=57). Further, as hypothesized, participants high in social anxiety recorded more negative thoughts and more upward counterfactual thoughts ('if only' type thoughts on how things could have been better; associated with negative affect) compared to those low in social anxiety. These results are discussed in terms of cognitive models of social anxiety.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1984

Dental fear and avoidance: a comparison of two modes of treatment.

Ninety-nine individuals, all of whom had long avoided dental treatment due to severe dental fear, received therapy according to one of two treatment modalities--behavioral therapy from a psychologist (BT) and treatment under general anesthesia (GA)--both of which were followed by clinical training and dental test treatments. These treatment programs were followed by referring the individuals to community dental clinics for complete oral rehabilitation. Among BT patients, significantly more (92%) completed the treatment program, compared with the GA patients (69%). Complete oral rehabilitation in community dental clinics was achieved by 78 and 53%, respectively. BT patients also had a significantly lower frequency of cancellations. The reduction in dental anxiety according to the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale was substantial in both groups, but the anxiety was significantly more reduced for BT patients, who reached a level equivalent to that of average dental patients. Patients' self-reported tension and the dentists' ratings of patient behavior during treatment were also significantly more positive for the BT groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The use of image habituation training with post-traumatic stress disorders.

An exposure treatment for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is described. Image habituation training (IHT) involves the patient in generating verbal descriptions of the traumatic event and recording these onto an audiotape. After the initial training session with the therapist, homework sessions of self-directed exposure in which the patient visualised the described event in response to listening to the audiotape were carried out. Of ten consecutive patients who received this treatment, six improved considerably after ten homework sessions, two showed moderate improvements, and two showed minimal improvement on a range of outcome measures. There were significant decreases in anxiety between and within homework sessions, suggesting that habituation did occur and was responsible for improvement. Treatment gains were maintained at six-month follow-up.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Virtual food in virtual environments for the treatment of eating disorders.

Eating disorders (Eds) are one of the problems with higher social repercussion in the last years. Sometimes, these clinical syndromes, which are characterized by an altered eating behavior, can have dramatic consequences. In eating disorders, one of the more critical situations, in addition to other of equal or more importance, is the patient's confrontation with food: the visual confrontation, the eating process and the repercussion on his weight. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has been used in psychology, as a therapeutic help tool for the treatment of different psychological problems, for several years now. Their helpfulness is increasingly being recognized. Some developed virtual environments (VE) and their corresponding published studies endorse the efficiency of this tool. Nevertheless, in order to increase the possibilities of success, it is very important to obtain a complete patient immersion in the VE: visual, auditory and interactive. Sometimes there are processes or actions of reality, which are difficult to simulate virtually, and simulating them coarsely would result in the patient lack of immersion in the VE, thus seriously decreasing the possibilities of success. The eating process is an example, since it consists of several steps, some of which (biting, chewing, etc.) don't have an evident virtual solution. This article shows how food and eating process have been simulated virtually in the development of a virtual environment for the treatment of eating disorders.

Adaptation, Psychological↗