How do you intervene with dog phobia in psychotherapy?

This is how we work in therapy with patients who have developed dog phobia.

Dog phobia, also known as cynophobia, is a specific type of phobia in which the person suffers an excessively intense anxiety reaction to dogs (or to the image of a real or imaginary dog).

In order to make a diagnosis of phobia, it is necessary for the patient to show dysfunctionality, i.e. that his daily life is affected. In the case of cynophobia, the feared stimulus is a very common animal in our society, being very easy for the patient to encounter it and not be able to avoid it in any way. For this reason, a psychotherapeutic intervention will be necessary.

In this article we will see what is dog phobia and which are the most effective techniques for its treatment..

What is dog phobia?

The phobia to the dogs, or cynophobia, is a type of specific phobia, a disproportionate fear of a possible future threat, which generates in the individual who suffers the need to avoid such a situation (or, if he/she endures it, he/she does so). (or if he/she endures it, he/she does it with great discomfort). The Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychological Association (DSM) speaks of three characteristic types of phobias: agoraphobia, social phobia and specific phobia.

Thus, specific phobia is defined as a disproportionate, very intense fear of a specific object or situation, which may be happening, occurring at that moment, in the present, or may occur in the future, in this case making it an anticipation. The anxiety or fear response that occurs is immediate and panic attacks may occur, characterized mainly by an increase in physiological activation.

Specific phobia is considered the most prevalent anxiety disorder in the general population, although it is also the one that generates the fewest problems and disabilities.Although it is also the one that generates the fewest problems and disabilities, since in many cases the stimuli that are feared are unlikely to be encountered or the subject avoids them. Thus, the criterion of alteration in the functionality of the person's life, necessary for diagnosis, is rarely met. Normally, the severity of this disorder is medium or low. Another criterion that must be met in order to classify it as a disorder is that the duration of the disorder is 6 months or more.

There are many types of specific phobias, as many as possible objects or situations in the world.. These in turn are classified into four different groups depending on whether the anxiety is produced before some type of animal, before the sight of blood, injections or wounds, before situations or before a natural or environmental setting. The phobias of each group will have a tendency to start at different ages, being also more characteristic in one sex or the other.

In reference to animal phobia, also called zoophobia, which is the category where the fear of any type of animal is classified, it usually appears for the first time in childhood. That is to say, it begins at an early age and is more prevalent in the female sex, in other words, there are a greater number of women who present this pathology than men.

Thus, dog phobia is defined as a disproportionate fear or anxiety of dogs.It is usually consolidated during childhood, and may be due to a traumatic event that the affected subject experienced with a dog. Add also that there may be variations depending on the cause of the dog phobia, for example, you can be afraid of all dogs in general, regardless of their characteristics, or you can be afraid of specific dogs, depending on their size, color or breed.

How is dog phobia treated in therapy?

The probability of encountering the stimulus that generates this type of phobia, that is, a dog, is high in the society in which we live. Likewise, it will be difficult to foresee when we may encounter one, making it difficult to avoid them. It is for these reasons that if we have a disproportionate fear of dogs, cynophobia, our functionality will be altered, affecting our daily life. and therefore with high probability we will need specific treatment.

Like all phobia, cynophobia presents a genetic predisposition for its development, this means that if the parents have a phobia of animals, it will be more likely that the children will also have it. Although it is not the only cause, it will also affect the experiences that the subject has had, for example, if he/she has had a bad experience with a dog or if he/she has witnessed an unpleasant situation for another person.

Thus, given the characteristics of this type of phobia, the fact that the stimulus is concrete and that it is possible to know the cause, the intervention procedure that we will carry out will be the same, the intervention procedure will be similar to that applied for the treatment of specific phobias in general..

1. Treatment by exposure

The treatment that has been found to be most effective for most specific phobias is live exposure to the phobic stimulus.. In this specific case an exposure to the stimulus will be performed, since this technique gives the opportunity to visualize the feared animal in a controlled and safe situation and thus to break the association between dog and fear or anxiety that it generates, that is to say, to revert the classic conditioning that had been generated by the traumatic experience lived by the patient.

Explained in a more detailed way, live exposure consists of presenting, in this case, the stimulus to the dog more or less gradually. (following a curve of ascending intensity or difficulty) and maintain its presence so that the subject can face it, and thus achieve that the anxiety and fear that appears before the dogs decreases and eventually disappears. Since this type of technique generates a high level of anxiety so that it is not unbearable for the subject and he/she can face it better, it is recommended that during the first exposure sessions the dog's movement is limited, so that the patient feels a little more secure.

This procedure can be performed in different sessionsalthough it has also been proposed and good results have been obtained to treat with only one session of up to 3 hours. In order to carry out this intervention it is essential that the subject only has a monosymptomatic phobia, that is, only to one stimulus, that the subject is motivated and that having the phobia does not cause benefits or that its disappearance does not generate negative consequences.

Likewise, as we have already pointed out, direct exposure to the feared stimulus produces great anxiety and can generate great rejection in the subject. For this reason, other similar techniques have been tried and are also obtaining positive results. These strategies consist of making an exposure through virtual or augmented realitywhich refers to the use of a simulator to create the sensation in the individual that he/she has a dog in front of him/her.

Despite generating favorable results, being better accepted by individuals and allowing greater control of the situation, this is not equivalent to and does not completely replace live exposure and we must always end up presenting the stimulus directly.

2. Psychoeducation

Although, as we have already mentioned, live exposure is the most effective treatment for this disorder, other strategies have also been used. Along with exposure to the stimulus, a psychoeducation phase is also recommended. This consists of providing information about the feared stimulus, in this case dogs, in order to correct and modify the patient's erroneous, unrealistic beliefs..

Similarly, it may also be beneficial and necessary to teach and train them in skills to know how to cope or handle the animal better; for example, how best to approach or touch a dog.

3. Participant modeling

It has also been seen that The technique of participant modeling combined with live exposure has also been shown to have positive results, and is recommended when it is necessary to teach a dog to the animal.It is recommended when it is necessary to teach handling skills to the patient.

Participant modeling is characterized as a process where a model, usually the therapist, performs and guides the patient through the process, guides the patient on how to act in the best way in the feared situation.. Above all, the introduction of this technique has been found to be beneficial in achieving better results in interventions with children.

4. Cognitive-behavioral therapy

In reference to other techniques used and which have also shown a certain degree of efficacy, these are those used in cognitive-behavioral therapies, thus introducing strategies such as anxiety management.Thus, introducing strategies such as anxiety management, which can be carried out for example through relaxation or the use of more cognitive techniques such as cognitive restructuring, which consists in the modification of unrealistic beliefs.

Finally, it should be noted that the use of psychotropic drugs is not considered effective in treating specific phobias, only in some particular cases it can be used as a complement in the first exposure sessions, but it will never be the first treatment option, taking it only for a short period of time and then withdrawing it.