Anxiety Disorders and Stress Q 39
School phobia is usually treated by:
A. Returning the child to the school immediately with family support.
B. Calmly explaining why attendance in school is necessary.
C. Allowing the child to enter the school before the other children.
D. Allowing the parent to accompany the child in the classroom.
Correct Answer: A. Returning the child to the school immediately with family support.
Exposure to a feared situation can help in overcoming anxiety. Behavior therapy is the most effective treatment for phobias is behavioral therapy. This includes systematic desensitization and flooding. In methodical desensitization, the patient is exposed to a list of stimuli ranging from the least to the most anxiety-provoking. With this method, patients are taught various techniques to deal with anxiety such as relaxation, breathing control, and cognitive approaches.
Option B: This will not help in relieving the anxiety due to separation from a significant other. The cognitive-behavioral approach includes reinforcing the realization that the phobic stimulus is safe. As the patient masters these techniques, they are taught to use them in the face of anxiety-provoking stimuli and induce relaxation. As the patients become desensitized to each stimulus on the scale, they keep moving up until the most anxiety-provoking stimuli no longer elicit any fear or anxiety.
Option C: Anxiety in school phobia is not due to being in school but due to separation from parents/caregivers so these interventions are not applicable. To be successful, behavioral therapy requires that the patient be committed to the treatment, there are distinctly identified problems and objectives, and there are alternative strategies for dealing with the patient’s feelings.
Option D: This will not help the child overcome the fear. Other forms of treatment that may also be considered are virtual therapy in which a patient is exposed to or interacts with the phobic object or situation on the computer screen. This field of treatment is relatively new and requires more research. Other treatment modalities include hypnosis, supportive therapy, and family therapy. The goal of all 3 forms of therapy is to help the patient recognize that the feared stimulus is not dangerous and to provide emotional support.