What You Can Change; The Treatments for Phobias.
In this paper I will cover many topics that are associated with the word phobia. I will describe the meaning of the word phobia, and explain how a phobia is actually a disease. I will also cover the many techniques used in phobia treatment. The specific treatments that are included in this paper are contingency management, modeling, self-control, one-session treatments, desensitization, fears based on wrong beliefs, intense fear exposure or flooding, and group therapy. I will break down contingency management into separate categories. The specific categories of contingency management are positive reinforcement, shaping, extinction, and stimulus fading. I will characterize each of the phobia treatments described above and explain how each proves to be a successful way to treat phobias. I will also illustrate how one can overcome their fears and carry on a normal life with the proper treatments. .
.
What You Can Change; The Treatments for Phobias.
Imagine a football player, known for his pure brutality on the field, running to the locker room when a mouse scurries across his feet during a game, a professional stuntman who willingly risks his life everyday for a paycheck, but refuses to fly in an airplane, or a surgeon scared of being trapped in a fire, will not enter the operating room until he personally checks every emergency exit on the floor (Milt, 1980). These people have one thing in common; they all have a phobia. There are phobias for almost everything, most of which can interfere with everyday life. Specific treatments are designed to help one get over their fears. There are things you can and cannot change about your life; phobias are a part of your life that can be changed with the right treatment. In this paper I will cover the definition of a phobia, examples of phobias, and the different techniques used to treat phobias.