Phobias

Question 1

General Facts

Answer 1

• common, treatable, and well-understood
• lifetime prevalence estimates of 11%
• For certain phobias up to 90% achieve long-lasting improvement in only one treatment session
• here’s the problem: propel with specific phobias rarely seek treatment
• only about 12.5% seek treatment

Question 2

Severe Impairments

Answer 2

• put off surgery due to fear of pre-op blood work
• woman with spider phobia left the car while moving
• student who dropped out of med school due to fear of blood
• man who wouldn’t leave home when it was cloudy
• executive who turned down a promotion because of fear of flying

Question 3

DSM V definition of Phobias

Answer 3

“the fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the specific object or situation and to the sociocultural context”

Question 4

Types of Phobias

Answer 4

1. Animal- spiders, insects, worms, snakes, dogs, cats, rodents
2. Natural environment type- heights, near water, storms, wind, sunshine, darkness
3. Blood-injection injury (BII)- seeing blood, receiving an injection or other invasive medical procedure, watching surgery, talking about surgical procedures, having a blood test
4. Situational type- public transportation, tunnels, bridges, flying, driving, elevators, enclosed spaces
5. Other- situations that might lead to vomiting, loud sounds, clowns, certain flowers or plants

Question 5

Most Common Phobias

Answer 5

Lifetime phobia rate:

- animals 5.7
- height 5.3
- blood 4.5
    - closed spaces 4.2

Question 6

Sex Differences

Answer 6

women are more scared than men with phobias except dentist phobias

Question 7

Interventions

Answer 7

• wide agreement on expoure as treatment of choice
• based on Wolpe’s systematic desensitization
  
  • several variations:
• in vivo more effective in reducing fear, briefer
• studies have found little benefit to relaxation training
• single 2-3 hour sessions have been effective for animals, injections, dentistry
• modeling is not sufficient; direct exposure is 2-3x more effective
• applied tension for BII phobias (intentionally raise blood pressure before being exposed to the phobia; tensing leg muscles; to help stop someone from fainting)