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Phobias

The subject of phobias is explored in Chapter 5: Anxiety, Obsessive- Compulsive, and

Related Disorders (Comer & Comer, 2019, p. 144). APA defines phobia as the irrational and

notably debilitating sense of fear caused by the thoughts or presence of specific objects or

situations. Phobias are typically classified as specific phobias under DSM-5, such as a fear of

elevators (elevatophobia) or spiders (arachnophobia), while others may be more pervasive in the

lives of affected individuals, for example the fear of crowds and public areas (agoraphobia). How

are these phobias typically treated?

The specific phobias were among the earliest anxiety disorders treated successfully. As

described in our textbook there are three main treatments that function as the “major behavioral

approaches to treating [phobias]…systematic desensitization, flooding, and modeling.” (Comer

& Comer, 2019, pg. 149) The fundamental principle of these treatments is the meticulous

exposure to the source of fear affecting the individual. The exposure methods of systemic

desensitization and flooding have the individual directly exposed to the subject of fear, whereas

for flooding the therapist is the confronter.

The long-term outcomes following treatment is crucial in determining success. Once

treated individuals believe in their ability to overcome what once seemed insurmountable, they

also accel in other aspects of their life. Patients who report successful treatment of their

symptoms of specific phobias through group and individual cognitive therapies report sustained

improvement in their symptoms after a 5-year period (Mörtberg, Clark, & Bejerot, 2011). A

participant of another study was treated for a phobia of dogs, and over a relatively short period of
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time reported “decreased elopement and noncompliance considerably and showed dramatic

improvements in emotional self-regulation” (Dovga, Clay, & Tate, 2020).

Virtual reality has recently seen much exploration as a treatment tool, as specific

situations can be crafted by therapists to assist clients, however this form of exposure treatment

does not appear to provide the same treatment quality as in vivo exposure treatments. (Freitas et.

al, 2021; Klinge et. al, 2003) Pharmacotherapy presents another possible treatment option, as

serotonergic medications improve social anxiety disorder symptom severity (Rappaport et al.,

2018). What treatments have we yet to discover, and what methods could produce the highest

likelihood of positive long-term outcomes?

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References
Comer, R. J., & Comer, J. S. (2019). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (9th ed.). Worth.
Dovgan, K., Clay, C. J., & Tate, S. A. (2020). Dog phobia intervention: A case study in
improvement of physiological and behavioral symptoms in a child with intellectual
disability. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 23(2), 121–132. https://doi-
org.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/17518423.2019.1683909
Freitas, J. R. S., Velosa, V. H. S., Abreu, L. T. N., Jardim, R. L., Santos, J. A. V., Peres, B., &
Campos, P. F. (2021). Virtual reality exposure treatment in phobias: A systematic review.
Psychiatric Quarterly. https://doi-org.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s11126-
021-09935-6
Klinger, E., Chemin, I., Légeron, P., Roy, S., Lauer, F., & Nugues, P. (2003). Designing virtual
worlds to treat social phobia. Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine, 1, 111–
119.
Mörtberg, E., Clark, D. M., & Bejerot, S. (2011). Intensive group cognitive therapy and
individual cognitive therapy for social phobia: Sustained improvement at 5-year follow-
up. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25(8), 994–1000.
https://doi-org.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.06.007

Rappaport, L. M., Russell, J. J., Hedeker, D., Pinard, G., Bleau, P., & Moskowitz, D. S. (2018).
Affect, interpersonal behaviour and interpersonal perception during open-label,
uncontrolled paroxetine treatment of people with social anxiety disorder: A pilot study.
Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 43(6), 407–415.
https://doiorg.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1503/jpn.170141