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Results for “Desensitization, Psychologic”

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The effects of psychological desensitization on levels of patient comfort during oral surgical procedures.

The efficacy of psychological desensitization to reduce clinical pain associated with oral surgery was compared to diazepam plus meperidine I.V. Premedication. A visual analog scale was used to rate pain during local anesthesia administration and oral surgery. Psychological desensitization of patients who are to receive only local anesthesia during oral surgical procedures appears to be a significantly effective means of controlling patient pain perception. Such desensitization does not appear to be significant, however, in patients intravenous sedation.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Feedback of true heart rate during exposure in vivo. Partial replication with methodological improvement.

Ten specific phobics improved during a mean of two sessions of experimental treatment by exposure in vivo in a balanced design. Short-term results replicated those of a previous study that self-control of heart rate with the aid of biofeedback significantly reduced heart rate during treatment, but this did not hasten reduction of subjective anxiety, nor of respiratory rate or skin conductance responses. An hour's pretreatment training in self-control of heart rate with the aid of feedback did not enhance the effect. Mere instructions to lower heart rate without feedback had a significant effect during treatment, but the addition of heart rate feedback to instructions significantly augmented the decline in heart rate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Constructive integration of learning theory and phenomenological approaches to biofeedback training.

Two major sources of theoretical development for biofeedback as an intervention paradigm are considered. An integration of cognitive learning theory approaches to the potential regulation of autonomic processes in an information-processing framework and the phenomenological information-processing approach of Kelly's personal construct theory suggest a new methodological paradigm for biofeedback as a tool of psychotherapeutic intervention, especially for the discipline of behavioral medicine. Biofeedback is reconstructed as a sequence of allocating attention to automatic cognitive processes until cognitive control has been mastered. This sequence is also seen as a circumspection-preemption-control cycle that Kelly (1955) suggested was essential to all problem solving. In light of Kelly's fundamental assumptions regarding the nature of constructs, it is suggested that controlled processing approaches to biofeedback require the biofeedback trainee to investigate both ends of psychophysiological dichotomies instead of demonstrative constructs of traditional biofeedback methodology. Other psychotherapeutic techniques are reviewed to validate this new theoretical approach. Finally, treatment within this paradigm is discussed as a recircumspection of relevant constructs that were routinized during the alarm reaction phase of Selye's general adaptation syndrome.

Biofeedback, Psychology↗
PubMed1984

Deconditioning and ad hoc uses of relaxation: an overview.

Muscle relaxation is one of the most effective means at our disposal for diminishing emotional stress. In the context of behavior therapy it has featured in systematic programs to overcome anxiety response habits. Its original usage by Jacobson was an ad hoc measure for meeting tensions as they arose, as well as for ongoing tensions. This usage also often results in diminution of anxiety response habits--inadvertently. It has been found of value in the treatment of migraine and tension headaches, insomnia and essential hypertension, and also in at least some cases of Type A personality. There is reason to think that in normal populations relaxation training may have a role in the prevention of neuroses.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1986

Extinguishing conditioned responses during opiate dependence treatment turning laboratory findings into clinical procedures.

Former opiate addicts (even those who have remained drug-free for several months) often report symptoms of opiate withdrawal (eg. nausea, gooseflesh, etc.) and/or intense drug craving when exposed to stimuli previously associated with the act of drug injection. This phenomenon of learned or "conditioned" withdrawal/craving is widely reported and is potentially important in explaining relapse to drug use. However, no effective, clinically applicable intervention had been available to "extinguish" these conditioned phenomena. An ongoing project to develop such an intervention has revealed: Conditioned withdrawal and craving are pervasive among both methadone maintained patients (even though actual physical withdrawal is blocked) and drug-free patients even after 30 days of inpatient Therapeutic Community rehabilitation. Conditioned withdrawal and craving can be effectively extinguished in an intensive, three-week, inpatient procedure. Emotional states such as anger, depression and anxiety can elicit and exacerbate conditioned withdrawal and craving. They may also act as an integral part of a conditioned stimulus complex. The authors discuss the problems associated with turning a laboratory-based procedure into a clinical intervention. Encouraging preliminary results from an integrated treatment "package" are presented.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1979

Cure and care of neurosis. I. Cure.

Behavioural psychotherapy has long historical roots. Recently it has led to effective treatment for selected neuroses, including phobic, obsessive-compulsive and sexual disorders. Potent therapy has become a tool of experimental psychopathology which advances theory and practice. A pervasive principle is exposure of the patient to those stimuli which evoke his discomfort until this subsides. Level of arousal during exposure does not affect outcome. Theoretical issues are reviewed which decide when exposure will be sensitizing or habituating. Both psychoanalytical and conditioning models of neurosis are out of date, and models derived more directly from clinical experiment are becoming possible. The aetiology of phobias and rituals can be seen as failed extinction rather than enhanced acquisition. Relevant phylogenetic and biological factors are discussed. At the other extreme, well-documented faith-healing indicates huge gaps in our knowledge of psychotherapy.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗
PubMed1979

Behavioral treatment of transsexualism: a case report.

Patients who believe themselves to be transsexual seek only confirmation of their diagnosis so that they may proceed with their pre-chosen course of management: hormones and surgery. Their syntonic emotional set generates resistance to any other therapeutic direction. Despite this attitude, it is the therapist's responsibility to assess each case individually and to decide, with the patient, on realistic goals even if they be different from the original one. This case emphasizes this need since a probing history revealed underlying conflict and anxiety related to severe homophobia. With revelation of the homophobia, various behavioral techniques could be used therapeutically. These resulted in acceptance of lesbianism as a life style. Careful assessment of patients with self-diagnoses of transsexualism can sometimes uncover a different etiology to which appropriate therapy can be applied.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Insomnia: nonpharmacologic management by private practice physicians.

We report a survey investigation on the perceived value of behavioral assessment and the use of nonpharmacologic treatment of insomnia by 159 physicians in private practice in Davidson County, Tennessee. They generally attributed limited value to behavioral assessment, and reported infrequent use of nonpharmacologic treatment. However, the more patients the physicians saw with insomnia as the chief symptom, the more they tended to value behavioral assessment and other diagnostic procedures. Endorsement of behavioral assessment and all other diagnostic practices was in turn related to the use of behavioral treatment techniques. We suggest that a lack of awareness of the value of alternative assessment and treatment strategies may account for physicians' limited use of nonpharmacologic approaches to this common yet frequently serious medical problem.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1983

Behavioral medicine: a new development.

Behavioral medicine had its formal beginnings at a Yale University conference in 1977; thus, as a field, it is still in an embryonic state of development. Behavioral medicine practitioners focus on operationally defined behaviors to set treatment goals, formulate treatment plans, and monitor changes in symptoms. They evaluate a patient's current situation to determine the antecedent and consequence of a defined behavior. The authors review the history of behavioral medicine, discuss its current interpretations, and compare it with psychosomatic medicine. They also discuss potential hazards and the future outlook for this interdisciplinary approach.

Behavior↗
PubMed1975

Use of mental imagery in psychotherapy: a critical review.

The paper presents arguments in favor of the use of mental imagery for therapeutic purposes. Several existing imagery approaches to psychotherapy are critically examined and suggestions for future inquiry are offered. The intimate relation between imagery and the affective-somatic processes is stressed.

Affect↗
PubMed1984

A behavioral technique for recovery from the psychological trauma of hysterectomy.

Three groups of women (ns = 10) undergoing hysterectomy were subjects in an evaluation of biofeedback and relaxation techniques applied to recovery from psychological trauma of hysterectomy. Dependent measures included requests of pain medications, anxiety levels, finger-tip temperature, subjective units of discomfort, and number of days post-operative care. Although the results were mixed on most variables, the number of days post-operative care was significantly less in the relaxation/biofeedback group.

Adaptation, Psychological↗