Flooding (psychology)
Encyclopedia
Flooding is a form of behavior therapy and based on the principles of respondent conditioning. It is sometimes referred to as exposure therapy
or prolonged exposure therapy
. As a psychotherapeutic technique, it is used to treat phobia
and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder
. It works by exposing the patient to their painful memories, with the goal of reintegrating their repressed
emotions with their current awareness. Flooding was invented by psychologist
Thomas Stampfl in 1967. It still is used in behavior therapy today.
Flooding is a psychotherapeutic method for overcoming phobias. This is a faster, yet less efficient and more traumatic, method of ridding fears when compared with systematic desensitization
. In order to demonstrate the irrationality of the fear, a psychologist would put a person in a situation where they would face their phobia at its worst. Under controlled conditions and using psychologically-proved relaxation techniques the subject attempts to replace their fear with relaxation. The experience can often be traumatic for a person, but may be necessary if the phobia is causing them problems. The advantage to flooding is that it is quick and usually effective. There is however, spontaneous recovery of a fear that may occur. This can be made less likely with systematic desensitization; another form of a classical condition procedure for the elimination of phobias.
or respondent conditioning—a form of Pavlov
's classical conditioning
—where patients change their behaviors to avoid negative stimuli. According to Pavlov, we learn through associations, so if we have a phobia it is because we associate the feared object or stimulus with something negative.
Flooding uses a technique based on Pavlov's classical conditioning that uses exposure. There are different forms of exposure such as imaginal exposure, virtual reality exposure, and in vivo exposure. While systematic desensitization may use these other types of exposure, flooding uses in vivo exposure, actual exposure to the feared stimulus. A patient is confronted with a situation in which the stimulus that provoked the original trauma is present. The psychiatrist there usually offers very little assistance or reassurance other than to help the patient to use relaxation techniques in order to calm themselves. Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation are common in these kinds of classical conditioning procedures. As the adrenaline and fear response has a time limit theoretically a person will eventually have to calm down and realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. Flooding can be done through the use of virtual reality and is fairly effective.
Psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe
(1973) carried out an experiment which demonstrated flooding. He took a girl who was scared of cars, and drove her around for hours. Initially the girl was hysterical but she eventually calmed down when she realized that her situation was safe. From then on she associated a sense of ease with cars.
Flooding therapy is not for every individual, and the therapist will discuss with the patient the levels of anxiety they are prepared to endure during the session. It may also be true that exposure is not for every therapist and therapists seem to shy away from use of the technique.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy intended to treat anxiety disorders and involves the exposure to the feared object or context without any danger in order to overcome their anxiety. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction paradigm in rodent work...
or prolonged exposure therapy
Prolonged exposure therapy
Prolonged exposure therapy is a form of behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, characterized by re-experiencing the traumatic event through remembering it and engaging with, rather than avoiding, reminders of the trauma...
. As a psychotherapeutic technique, it is used to treat phobia
Phobia
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
. It works by exposing the patient to their painful memories, with the goal of reintegrating their repressed
Psychological repression
Psychological repression, also psychic repression or simply repression, is the psychological attempt by an individual to repel one's own desires and impulses towards pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one's consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious...
emotions with their current awareness. Flooding was invented by psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
Thomas Stampfl in 1967. It still is used in behavior therapy today.
Flooding is a psychotherapeutic method for overcoming phobias. This is a faster, yet less efficient and more traumatic, method of ridding fears when compared with systematic desensitization
Systematic desensitization
Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy used in the field of psychology to help effectively overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders. More specifically, it is a type of Pavlovian therapy / classical conditioning therapy developed by a South African psychiatrist, Joseph Wolpe...
. In order to demonstrate the irrationality of the fear, a psychologist would put a person in a situation where they would face their phobia at its worst. Under controlled conditions and using psychologically-proved relaxation techniques the subject attempts to replace their fear with relaxation. The experience can often be traumatic for a person, but may be necessary if the phobia is causing them problems. The advantage to flooding is that it is quick and usually effective. There is however, spontaneous recovery of a fear that may occur. This can be made less likely with systematic desensitization; another form of a classical condition procedure for the elimination of phobias.
How flooding works
"Flooding" is an effective form of treatment for phobias amongst other psychopathologies. It works on the principles of classical conditioningClassical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
or respondent conditioning—a form of Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a famous Russian physiologist. Although he made significant contributions to psychology, he was not in fact a psychologist himself but was a mathematician and actually had strong distaste for the field....
's classical conditioning
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
—where patients change their behaviors to avoid negative stimuli. According to Pavlov, we learn through associations, so if we have a phobia it is because we associate the feared object or stimulus with something negative.
Flooding uses a technique based on Pavlov's classical conditioning that uses exposure. There are different forms of exposure such as imaginal exposure, virtual reality exposure, and in vivo exposure. While systematic desensitization may use these other types of exposure, flooding uses in vivo exposure, actual exposure to the feared stimulus. A patient is confronted with a situation in which the stimulus that provoked the original trauma is present. The psychiatrist there usually offers very little assistance or reassurance other than to help the patient to use relaxation techniques in order to calm themselves. Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation are common in these kinds of classical conditioning procedures. As the adrenaline and fear response has a time limit theoretically a person will eventually have to calm down and realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. Flooding can be done through the use of virtual reality and is fairly effective.
Psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe
Joseph Wolpe
Joseph Wolpe was born on April 20, 1915, in Johannesburg, South Africa, and died on December 4, 1997, from lung cancer. He is one of the most influential figures in behavior therapy....
(1973) carried out an experiment which demonstrated flooding. He took a girl who was scared of cars, and drove her around for hours. Initially the girl was hysterical but she eventually calmed down when she realized that her situation was safe. From then on she associated a sense of ease with cars.
Flooding therapy is not for every individual, and the therapist will discuss with the patient the levels of anxiety they are prepared to endure during the session. It may also be true that exposure is not for every therapist and therapists seem to shy away from use of the technique.
Why flooding is necessary
Phobias by definition are irrational fears, and these phobias can get in the way of everyday life. For example, a person with a phobia of cars would have a hard time crossing the street or even walking around town. For some reason this person has developed the belief that all cars are dangerous and need to be avoided. Often, a person who has developed a phobia of a particular thing or situation will go to extreme lengths to avoid that situation. As long as they avoid exposure to the thing that they fear, they have no way of knowing that it can't hurt them.Organizations
Flooding is a behavior therapy technique. Many organizations exist for behavior therapists around the world. The World Association for Behavior Analysis offers a certification in behavior therapy, which includes questions on flooding and exposure therapy http://worldcenterba.com/index.html.See also
- Desensitization (psychology)Desensitization (psychology)In psychology, desensitization is a process for mitigating the harmful effects of phobias or other disorders. It also occurs when an emotional response is repeatedly evoked in situations in which the action tendency that is associated with the emotion proves irrelevant or unnecessary...
- Immersion TherapyImmersion TherapyImmersion therapy is a psychological technique which allows a patient to overcome fears .First a fear-hierarchy is created: the patient is asked a series of questions to determine the level of discomfort the fear causes in various conditions...
- Systematic desensitizationSystematic desensitizationSystematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy used in the field of psychology to help effectively overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders. More specifically, it is a type of Pavlovian therapy / classical conditioning therapy developed by a South African psychiatrist, Joseph Wolpe...
- SensitizationSensitizationSensitization is an example of non-associative learning in which the progressive amplification of a response follows repeated administrations of a stimulus. An everyday example of this mechanism is the repeated tonic stimulation of peripheral nerves that will occur if a person rubs his arm...