{"id":30158,"date":"2015-12-16T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=30158"},"modified":"2015-12-15T10:41:21","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T18:41:21","slug":"study-fear-of-spiders-may-be-cured-in-two-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/study-fear-of-spiders-may-be-cured-in-two-minutes-1216151","title":{"rendered":"Study: Fear of Spiders May Be Cured in Two Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Scared<\/a>At least 30% of Americans have a fear of spiders, or arachnophobia. According to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry, <\/em>just two minutes of therapy could eradicate that fear<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For most people, arachnophobia does not interfere with everyday life. In most natural habitats, however, people are usually not farther than a few feet from a spider. This means that for some people with arachnophobia, intrusive thoughts of spiders can become a chronic source of distraction and fear.<\/p>\n

Treating Arachnophobia with Therapy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lead researchers Marieke Soeter and Merel Kindt, of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, wanted to explore whether memory reconsolidation, a treatment originally developed by neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux for the treatment of posttraumatic stress<\/a>, could treat arachnophobia. The concept behind reconsolidation is to change the way the brain processes memories<\/a> that may be upsetting, thereby altering trauma-related thoughts and behaviors.<\/p>\n

Soeter and Kindt recruited 45 subjects with arachnophobia. Each group was exposed to a tarantula for two minutes, resulting in a predicted fearful response. After being exposed to the spider, half of participants received a 40-milligram dose of propanolol. The other half received a placebo<\/a>. Propanolol is a beta-blocker but has also been shown to have amnesic properties.<\/p>\n

\n\t

Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t
\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\tAdvanced Search<\/a>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>LeDoux\u2019s idea of reconsolidation theorizes that fearful memories require protein synthesis in the brain\u2019s amygdala<\/a>. After these memories are retrieved, this protein synthesis makes the memories more susceptible to change, but only for a few hours. Thus treatment that occurs immediately after triggering the fear—as was the case with the people exposed to the tarantula—could help extinguish it.<\/p>\n

As predicted, participants who received the beta-blocker experienced significant reduction in fear-related avoidance behavior. They were also more willing to approach spiders, even a year after the study.<\/p>\n

Treatment Options\u00a0for People with Phobias<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Scientists have multiple approaches to treating fear. Some providers use cognitive behavioral therapy<\/a> and medication, but this can require numerous sessions. Others offer a form of treatment called exposure therapy<\/a>, which gradually exposes someone to a frightening stimulus. Though usually effective, these treatment options can be time-consuming and stressful<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new study could offer a more cost-effective option for people seeking relief from phobias. More research is necessary to assess whether this treatment works with other phobias<\/a>.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Buddle, C. (2012, June 5). You are always within three feet of a spider: Fact or Fiction? Retrieved from http:\/\/arthropodecology.com\/2012\/06\/05\/you-are-always-within-three-feet-of-a-spider-fact-or-fiction\/<\/li>\n
  2. Kaplan, J. S., PhD, & Toplin, D. F., PhD. (n.d.). Exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.psychiatrictimes.com\/anxiety\/exposure-therapy-anxiety-disorders<\/li>\n
  3. LeDoux, J. E. (2015).\u00a0Anxious: Using the brain to understand and treat fear and anxiety<\/em>. New York, NY: Viking.<\/li>\n
  4. Whiteman, H. (2015, December 14). How a 2-minute therapy could help cure fear of spiders. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/304048.php<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Though some treatment options do exist for people with phobias, a recent study has uncovered a new two-minute treatment option for people with arachnophobia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2555,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,159],"tags":[390,404,25],"class_list":["post-30158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-therapy-news","tag-fear","tag-phobias","tag-psychotherapy-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}