Evaluation of Systematic Desensitisation (A03)Psychopathology

Evaluation of Systematic Desensitisation (A03) Psychopathology

Strength 1: Appropriateness Behavioural therapies in general are quick and require less effort on the part of the patient compared to other psychological therapies where the patient plays a more active part in the treatment, for example Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). As a result, successful outcomes can be achieved relatively quickly (usually within a month for Systematic Desensitisation). Strength 2: Appropriateness It is suitable, thus appropriate, for a diverse range of patients. The alternative to Systematic Desensitisation is a behavioural therapy called Flooding which involves exposing the patient to an extreme form of the phobic stimulus to eradicate the anxiety associated with the feared object or situation. Thus it could be argued that Systematic Desensitisation is a more ethical behavioural treatment compared to alternatives such as Flooding, which could explain why patients prefer this behavioural treatment. Strength 3: Effectiveness Research shows that Systematic Desensitisation is effective in the treatment of specific phobias. Gilroy et al (2003) followed up 42 patients who had been treated for spider phobia in three 45-minute sessions of Systematic Desensitisation. Spider phobia was assessed on several measures including a questionnaire and by assessing the patients’ response to a spider. A control group was treated by relaxation without exposure to the spider. At both 3 months and 33 months after the treatment the treatment group were less fearful than the control group. This is a strength because it shows that Systematic Desensitisation is helpful in reducing the anxiety in spider phobia and that the effects are long-lasting. Weakness 1: Appropriateness Systematic Desensitisation is mainly suitable for patients who are able to learn and use relaxation strategies, and who have imaginations vivid enough to conjure up images of feared objects/situations. Therefore this may limit the number of phobic patients that it is appropriate for. Weakness 2: Appropriateness There are ethical considerations with Systematic Desensitisation as there is a risk of psychological harm to the patient if it not effective. However cost-benefit analyses may regard the long-term benefits of eradicating the phobia as outweighing the short-term costs of patient distress. Weakness 3: Effectiveness Some researchers would argue that a phobia is a symptom of an underlying condition and that when one phobia is removed by using a behavioural technique, such as Systematic Desensitisation, another phobia will emerge and take its place. This is known as symptom substitution and it is argued that the therapy is therefore not curing the actual underlying cause of the phobia, merely the symptoms (i.e. anxiety).