Exposure in vivo vs applied relaxation in the treatment of blood phobia

Eighteen patients with phobia for bloodt, wounds and injuries were treated with exposure in vivo or applied relaxation. They were assessed on different self-report, behavioral and physiological measures before and after treatment. The patients were treated individually for 9 sessions, 1 per week. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour research and therapy 1984, Vol.22 (3), p.205-216
Main Authors: Öst, Lars-Göran, Lindahl, Inga-Lena, Sterner, Ulf, Jerremalm, Anita
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior Therapy - methods
Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Phobic Disorders - therapy
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Relaxation Therapy
Treatments
Wounds and Injuries
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Summary:Eighteen patients with phobia for bloodt, wounds and injuries were treated with exposure in vivo or applied relaxation. They were assessed on different self-report, behavioral and physiological measures before and after treatment. The patients were treated individually for 9 sessions, 1 per week. The within-group comparisons showed that both groups had improved significantly on most of the measures and that these improvements were sustained or furthered at the 6-month follow-up. Furthermore, 10 of the 16 who completed the treatment became blood donors. The between-group comparisons showed exposure to be better than applied relaxation on three of the self-report measures at post-treatment assessment, but not at follow-up. The groups did equally well on the behavioral and physiological measures. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the coping-orientated method of applied relaxation is as effective as exposure in vivo in the treatment of blood phobia.
ISSN:0005-7967
1873-622X
DOI:10.1016/0005-7967(84)90001-9