The Scarier the Better: Maximizing Exposure Therapy Outcomes for Spider Fear.
Behav Cogn Psychother
; 46(6): 754-760, 2018 Nov.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30001760
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
While exposure therapy effectively reduces anxiety associated with specific phobias, not all individuals respond to treatment and some will experience a return of fear after treatment ceases.AIMS:
This study aimed to test the potential benefit of increasing the intensity of exposure therapy by adding an extra step that challenged uncontrollability (Step 15 allowing a spider to walk freely over one's body) to the standard fear hierarchy.METHOD:
Fifty-one participants who had a severe fear of spiders completed two 60-min exposure sessions 1 week apart in a context that was either the same or different from the baseline and follow-up assessment context. Participants were categorized into groups based on the last hierarchy step they completed during treatment (Step 14 or fewer, or Step 15).RESULTS:
Those who completed Step 15 had greater reductions in fear and beliefs about the probability of harm from baseline to post-treatment than those who completed fewer steps. Although completing Step 15 did not prevent fear from returning after a context change, it allowed people to maintain their ability to tolerate their fear, which earlier steps did not. Despite some fear returning after a context change, individuals who completed Step 15 tended to report greater reductions in fear from baseline to the follow-up assessment than participants who completed 14 or fewer steps.CONCLUSIONS:
Overall, these results suggest that more intensive exposure that directly challenges harm beliefs may lead to greater changes in fear and fear beliefs than less intensive exposure.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos Fóbicos
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Aranhas
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Medo
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Terapia Implosiva
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
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Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Animals
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article