treatment

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  • Created by: devona
  • Created on: 05-06-13 15:19

Behavioural treatments of phobia: McGrath

Aim: to treat a girl with specific noise phobias using systematic desensitisation

Method: a case study, details of noise phobia in a 9 year old girl called Lucy. Fear of sudden loud noise such as balloon poppers,guns and car backfiring and fireworks. Her parents gave consent and told what would happen, 1 session Lucy constructed a hierarchy of feared noises.Taught breathing and imagery to relax and had fear thermometer rate fear from 1-10. after 4 season learned to feel calm when noise presented. 

Findings: 1st reluctant for balloon to burst, she cried. End of 4th signal balloon to be burst 10 meters away show mild anxiety, 5th could burst balloon herself and over next 3 sessions Lucy pull party popper if held by therapist. 10th and final Lucy's fear thermometer  scores from 7 to 3 for balloon, 9-3 for party popper and 8-5 for cap gun.

Conclusions: it appears that noise phobias in children are amenable to systematic desensitisation.giving control to say when and where the noise were made and the use of inhibitors of fear response (relaxation). 

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Biological treatment social phobia: Liebowitz

Aim: tosee if the drug phenelzine can help treat patients with social phobias

Method: lab experiment using an independent measure design on 80 patients with social phobia gave their consent treated over 8 weeks assessed for fear with Hamilton fear rating scale and Liebowitz social phobia scale.patients were randomly allocated to one of three conditions group given phenelzine another atenolol and last group placebo with gradual increase of dosage. they were then reassessed with scales after independent evaluators used in a double blind situation.

Findings: after 8 weeks significant differences found in phenelzine group compared to placebo group with better scores and test for anxiety. no difference between atenolol and placebo. 

Conclusions: Phenelzine but not atenolol is effective in treating social phobias after eight weeks of treatment 

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Cognitive treatment for panic disorders: Ots & Wes

Aim: to compare cognitive behaviour therapy with applied relaxation as therapies for panic disorders. 

Method: a longitudinal study, 38 patients undergoing therapy for panic disorder, recruited through psychiatrist and newspaper adverts mean age 32.6. Independent design experiment, random allocation to one of two conditions. Cognitive or applied therapy.Pre treatment baseline assessment of panic attack using variety of questionnaires eg panic attack scale. record PA in dairy, given 12 week treatment 50-60 minutes per week.AR used identify cause and then relaxation training start with tension release of muscle gradually increase by final able to practise. CBT. PATIENTS REASSESSED USING QUESTIONNAIRE AND THEN AGAIN AFTER ONE YEAR.  

Findings: AR showed 65% panic free after year 82%, CBT 74% and 89% after one year.

Conclusions: both CBT and applied relaxation worked at reducing panic attacks. 

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