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Imaginal Flooding and Exposure to Real Phobic Situations: Changes During Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. W. Johnston ,
M. Lancashire ,
A. M. Mathews ,
M. Munby ,
P. M. Shaw  and
M. G. Gelder
D. W. Johnston
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
M. Lancashire
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
A. M. Mathews
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
M. Munby
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
P. M. Shaw
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
M. G. Gelder
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
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Summary

This paper reports the results of measures taken during treatment in the study of imaginai flooding and exposure to real phobic situations previously described by Mathews, Johnston, Lancashire, Munby, Shaw and Gelder (1976). On weekly measures of change a similar reduction in phobic behaviour in all treatments was found, confirming the previous findings. Differences in therapist effectiveness were also confirmed. On measures of the immediate effects of treatment, exposure to the phobic situation had consistent positive effects, imaginai flooding had little or no detectable effect. It is proposed that the treatments studied differ in their immediate effects on phobic behaviour but also have the common effect of facilitating counterphobic behaviour outside the treatment situation, and that this is the main agent of therapeutic change.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 129 , Issue 4 , October 1976 , pp. 372 - 377
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1976 

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References

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