Cognitive-behavior therapy session for a client with specific phobia of spiders

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Tompkins, Michael A.

American Psychological Association

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Phobias--Treatment.

Phobias.

Spiders.

Cognitive therapy.

Phobic Disorders.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Medical Subjects:

Phobic Disorders.

Spiders.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Genre:

Nonfiction films

Educational films

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 streaming video file (45 min., 22 sec.))

Place of Publication:

[Washington, D.C.] American Psychological Association 2014

System Details:

video file

Summary:

Clinical psychologist Dr. Michael A. Tompkins conducts a single-session intervention of cognitive-behavior therapy with an African American female client with specific phobia of spiders. From a cognitive-behavior therapy orientation, Dr. Tompkins uses a highly structured approach to treat the client's phobia. In the initial part of the session, the therapist poses a series of questions to gather a clear understanding of the nature and origins of the client's fear. The therapist also inquires as to current triggers and recent phobic episodes. Dr. Tompkins deconstructs the client's phobia into cognitive and emotional components. Using a numerical scale, the therapist gauges the client's initial fear in response to envisioning varying degrees of exposure, ranging from talking about spiders, to looking at pictures, to encountering them in various scenarios. The therapist further interviews the client to gain a sense of the nature of the client's reactions, which primarily involve avoidance or asking others to assist when encountering a spider. The therapist also questions the client to understand the degree to which her fears interfere with her functioning. Dr. Tompkins seeks to understand the core of the client's fear, which the client expresses as concerns of being bitten and potentially dying. The therapist then works to correct the client's cognitive distortions of the likelihood of being bitten by a spider and dying from such a bite. The therapist provides education and an exercise in which the client broadens her thought processes to consider the likelihood among those in her community experiencing such an event. He introduces an exposure and desensitization exercise involving viewing a picture of a spider for successive periods of time, which he initiates only after the client signals her readiness. During the session, the therapist periodically gauges the client's fear and provides positive reinforcement as she successfully masters each step. At the conclusion of the session, the therapist suggests additional behavior therapy to help the client overcome her phobia

Notes:

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