Psychopathology and treatment of specific phobias

This contribution discusses the nature of specific phobias, describes the range of stimuli that commonly act as phobic stimuli, and then continues by discussing theories of the aetiology of phobias and the most common forms of treatment. Traditional theories of phobias have alluded to learning through classical conditioning or the biological pre-wiring of phobic responses as a result of evolutionary pressures. However, it is now agreed that different subtypes of phobias may have different aetiologies and be acquired through quite different psychological mechanisms. Arguably the most successful forms of treatment for specific phobias are exposure therapies, including flooding, counterconditioning and systematic desensitization. These have been supplemented more recently by one-session rapid treatments that combine principles of both behavioural and cognitive therapies.