Describe and evaluate at least one Behavioural Therapy

Flooding is a form of behaviour therapy based on classical conditioning - where patients change their behaviours to avoid negative stimuli. Flooding is also sometimes referred to as exposure therapy. It is used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, and it works by the subject being exposed to their phobia or other form of stressor for an extended length of time, as the adrenaline and fear response has a time limit - theoretically a person will eventually have to calm down and realize that their phobia is irrational.

A good example of this therapy being put to use is the experiment undertaken by Psychiatrist, Joseph Wolpe in 1973 where he took a girl who was scared of cars, and drove her around for hours. Initially the girl was hysterical but she eventually calmed down when she realized that her situation was safe. From then on she associated a sense of ease with cars.

Although this form of therapy is very effective, being long term and relatively quick acting without the use of drugs – it is still somewhat unethical due to the fact that it is possible for this therapy to actually worsen the person’s phobia – leaving what can sometimes be permanent or semi-permanent psychological scars on the subject. The fact that this therapy causes so much stress could also trigger negative physical effects, especially if the person is not in perfect health, such as heart attacks.