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Summary
Cognitive treatments show limited effectiveness for phobic disorders, whether alone or combined with behavioral therapy. Further research is needed to develop reliable cognitive measures before dismissing these techniques.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Behavioral Therapy
Background:
- Maladaptive cognitions are considered important in phobic disorders.
- Existing literature suggests cognitive treatments are not effective for phobic disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the effectiveness of cognitive treatments for phobic disorders.
- To explore reasons for the ineffectiveness of cognitive treatments.
- To suggest future research directions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on cognitive treatments for phobic disorders.
- Analysis of the effectiveness of cognitive treatments alone and in combination with behavioral techniques.
- Discussion of potential reasons for treatment ineffectiveness.
Main Results:
- Cognitive techniques are relatively ineffective for clinical phobics when used alone or combined with behavioral treatments.
- The effectiveness of cognitive treatments cannot be fully evaluated due to a lack of reliable cognitive change measures.
Conclusions:
- Reliable and valid cognitive measures are crucial for evaluating the efficacy of cognitive treatments.
- Further research is needed to develop and utilize psychometrically sound cognitive measures.
- Cognitive measurement should also be employed to understand the mechanisms of exposure-based treatments for phobias.