FLOODING & IMPLOSIVE
THERAPY
SUBMITTED BY:
SHREYA GUPTA
MACP III Semester
FLOODING
• Exposure Therapy, Behavioral techniques that introduce the client to
situations, under carefully controlled conditions, which are related to
their anxieties or fears are called exposure therapies.
• Therapy based on the principles of classical conditioning.
• Classical conditioning is the learning of involuntary responses by
pairing a stimulus that normally causes a particular response
(unconditioned stimulus) with a new, neutral stimulus. After enough
pairings, the new stimulus will also cause the response to occur.
• Through classical conditioning, old and undesirable automatic
responses can be replaced by desirable ones
Flooding is based on the premise that escaping from an anxiety producing
experience reinforce the anxiety.
FLOODING, is technique for treating phobias and other stress disorders in
which the person is rapidly and intensely exposed to the fear-provoking
situation or object and prevented from making the usual avoidance or
escape response.
Clinician encourage patient to confront feared situation directly, without a
gradual buildup.
In flooding, exposure is rapid and intense, it begins with the most feared
event. Ex. riddhima
patient experience fear, which gradually subsides after a time.
The success of the procedure depends on having
patient remain in the fear generating situation,
until they are calm and feel a sense of mastery.
premature withdrawal or premature termination
is equivalent to an escape, that will reinforce
the anxiety and avoidance behavior.
Example of vivo flooding.
Techniques Used
Exposure can be accomplished through variety of techniques and is
intended to promote new learning.
vivo (“in life”), where the client is exposed to the actual anxiety-related
stimulus.
imaginal, where the client visualizes or imagines the stimulus.
virtual, where virtual reality (VR) technology is used.
Goals
The goal is to help clients confront their fears directly, experience the
associated anxiety, and learn that their feared situations are not as
threatening as they perceive. By preventing avoidance behaviors and
other maladaptive responses, exposure therapies like flooding enable
individuals to break the cycle of fear and anxiety, ultimately leading to
symptom reduction and improved quality of life.
Extinction of fear response by prolonged exposure, helps the brain unlearn
the fear response.
Cognitive restructuring , by allowing them to experience their fear without
the negative consequences , allowing developing rational belief and
challenge irrational fear
Increased anxiety tolerance .
IMPLOSIVE THERAPY
The foundation of implosion treatment is exposure therapy,
which holds that extended and repeated exposure to
frightening stimuli can lessen anxiety responses. Implosion
therapy involves exposing patients to their traumatic or feared
stimuli in a vivid and intense way, which results in an
overpowering sensation. By challenging the patient's avoidance
tendencies and allowing them to experience the dreaded
scenario or stimulus without the predicted negative effects, the
therapy seeks to address and eliminate anxiety.
This therefore would involve strong emotional reactions of the client.
Implosive therapy is a therapy based on the principles of classical conditioning.
Techniques used
Imaginary exposure
implosive therapy involves exposure through imagination and visualization.
Individuals are guided to create detail mental images of feared situation or
objects.
Ex : Imaginal exposure involves imagining the feared situation coming true in
details so for instance you may have phobia of vomiting, you probably would
not be encouraged to eat something which may induce vomiting. Instead, a
therapist may ask you to describe what you imagine would happen if you did
vomit, perhaps in public.
Exposure and response prevention
It is exposing the individuals to their triggered situations. Individuals are
discouraged from using avoidance behaviour or seeking reassurance
during implosive therapy.
Repeated exposure naturally decreases the fear elicited by the situation
(with no escape or avoidance behaviour).
Intense imagery
Intense imagery, also known as vivid mental imagery, involves creating
detailed, realistic or lifelike mental pictures in one's mind.
Flooding and implosive therapy
Although there are similarities, the terms implosive therapy and
flooding cannot be used interchangeably.
-Flooding deals with the actual stimulus or its image, while in
implosion therapy anxiety is aroused by only imagining the stimuli.
- implosive therapy involves imagined scenes that are often
exaggerated by a therapist and often relate to the client's most
feared fantasy. ex. people who are said to be afraid of flying are
actually afraid of crashing.
THANK YOU
