Covert sensitization therapy is a type of behavioral therapy that is used to treat individuals with inappropriate behaviors or habits, such as substance abuse, gambling addiction, and compulsive behavior. It is based on the principle of classical conditioning, which suggests that an individual's behavior can be modified through the association of a stimulus with an unpleasant response.
In covert sensitization therapy, the individual is asked to imagine a scenario in which they are engaging in their undesirable behavior. The therapist then guides the individual through a visualization exercise in which they are confronted with a series of increasingly unpleasant consequences as a result of their behavior. These consequences may be physical, such as getting sick or experiencing pain, or psychological, such as feeling guilty or ashamed. The goal of this exercise is to create an association between the undesirable behavior and negative consequences, which can help to reduce or eliminate the undesirable behavior over time.
One of the main advantages of covert sensitization therapy is that it can be administered in a private, non-confrontational setting, which can be more comfortable for some individuals. It can also be tailored to the specific needs and concerns of the individual, as the therapist can tailor the visualization exercise to address the individual's specific triggers and motivations for their undesirable behavior.
However, there are also some limitations to covert sensitization therapy. Some individuals may find it difficult to fully engage in the visualization exercise, which can limit the effectiveness of the therapy. It may also be less effective for individuals with more severe or complex issues, such as substance abuse disorders, as it may not address the underlying psychological or emotional issues that contribute to the undesirable behavior.
In summary, covert sensitization therapy is a type of behavioral therapy that uses visualization exercises to create an association between undesirable behaviors and negative consequences. It can be an effective treatment for individuals with inappropriate behaviors or habits, but it may be less effective for those with more severe or complex issues.
Hypnotherapy
By imagining this disgusting scene over and over again, the client starts associating alcohol with vomit, and drinking becomes much less appealing. It is important to note that aversion therapy is not the only way to break bad habits. Covert sensitization is a form of behavior therapy in which clients are taught to associate an imagined aversive or negative stimulus with a behavior that they wish to eliminate or reduce. Step 6: Altering the Aversive Scene Step 7: Practicing Covert Sensitization in Real Life. Again, I reinforced the efficacy of self hypnosis. Journal of Experimental Psychology 3: 1-14. Psychological Reports 20: 259-468.
This treatment approach may also be applied to cigarette smokers, and there are favourable results here especially when being compared to other techniques. In 1920, Watson and Reyner demonstrated a procedure which showed that pairing an aversive stimulus with a neutral object led to a withdrawal; this, in turn, generated an interest in aversion therapy. If there is any evidence of liver or brain damage, the patient would only be given the option of having covert sensitisation with zero tolerance. It has also been used to reduce stealing, fingernail biting, compulsive gambling, compulsive lying, and compulsive shopping. It has been helpful in curtailing use of nonaddictive drugs such as marijuana.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Covert Sensitization, a Kind of Behavioral Therapy
Plaud, Joseph, and Georg Eifert, eds. With much variation, and depending upon the nature of the behavior targeted for change, the patient may see the therapist anywhere from five to 20 sessions over a period of a few weeks to several months. The patient learns to associate unpleasant sensations nausea and vomiting with the undesirable behavior, leading to decreased desire and avoidance of the situation in the future. If one thing leads to another, and the outcome is good, then a positive type of classical conditioning is established. In the next session, the third, Sheila said that she was still not drinking any alcohol; she went out with her friends who all drank with their meal, and this did not worry her at all. It is considered more ethical than overt sensitization because it does not involve external painful consequences. Escape from the final and worst aversive image by thinking an alternative, more balanced thought.
Usually, the image with the most powerful aversive response is chosen. The patient is instructed on how to relax—an important precursor to generating intense imagery. If you need instructions for turning off common ad-blocking programs, click If you already know how to turn off your ad blocker, just hit the refresh icon or F5 after you do it, to see the page. As the therapist comes to know the client over the course of the first few sessions, the therapist can help the client devise an aversive scenario with details drawn from the client's actual living situation, occupation, outside interests, and the like. . Although she had not smoked any cannabis, I felt that the aversion should be reinforced and she agreed to have a further aversion session.
With regard to the treatment of alcoholism, while it is possible to focus on a specific alcoholic beverage such as whiskey, this form of treatment, on the whole, involves total abstinence. The stimulus was then withdrawn and she was then taken to her special place which consisted of sun-bathing in the Middle East. Behaviour, Research and Therapy 2: 289-299. Alcoholics in the Soviet Union take a nausea-inducing drug mixed with liquor Overt sensitization treatments using nausea-inducing drugs, not just imagÂination, were tried in the Soviet Union as early as the 1930s. The theory behind covert sensitization is that behaviors that have become strong habits are learned because they are consistently reinforced by a great deal of pleasure. Behaviour Research and Therapy 7: 125-127. If the patient wishes to continue drinking alcohol in moderation, then an alternative approach is needed, and this involves a process of systematic desensitisation to social anxiety situations.
After the first session, Maria went to a sandwich bar and suddenly saw some chocolates. Don't see what you need? Thirteen years earlier, she had seen a hypnotherapist for smoking and this had been successful; now, she was looking for treatment for her alcoholism and had high expectations for the outcome. See the people involved, the setting, the sounds, smells, and textures. From Behavior Theory to Behavior Therapy. Case Six: Alcoholism Sheila was a fifty-two year old single lady who suffered from alcoholism. This sequence was given three trials for six different times of the day-first thing in the morning, mid-morning, lunch-time, mid-afternoon, early evening and late at night. Once an old pleasurable habit has become painful, you can escape its unpleasantness by imagining doing something more appropriate that is associated with enjoyable feelings.
Psychological Record 16: 33-41. You become sensitized to something unpleasant, which you associate with the habit in particular settings and situations. See the people involved, the setting, the sounds, smells, and textures. In the hypnosis session that followed, I repeated the aversion programme even though she had not smoked during the previous week. The scene must be imagined with sufficient vividness so that a sense of physiological discomfort or high anxiety is actually experienced. For example, if someone was using covert sensitisation to treat pathological gambling, they would imagine themselves gambling e. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 18 4 : 251-256.
And, if they practice relapse prevention techniques, they can expect to maintain the improvement. The therapist begins by assessing the problem behavior, and will most likely measure frequency, severity, and the environment in which it occurs. You are now walking toward the bar. A sex therapist may begin by having a couple abstain from sex for a period of time while working on improved comÂmunication. Journal of Mental Science 104: 14-83.
