Individual response patterns and the effects of different behavioral methods in the treatment of dental phobia

Psychophysiological reactions in dental phobic patients with direct vs. indirect fear acquisition

“…Existing research has both confirmed ( . Ost, 1985) and contradicted (Jerremalm, Jansson, & . Ost, 1986;Taylor & Deane, 1999) these suggestions.…”

Muscle relaxation therapy for anxiety disorders: It works but how?

“…Seven studies of Ö st's (1987) applied relaxation treatment protocol in anxiety patients recorded physiological measures: five recorded only HR, while two recorded in addition BP and electrodermal activity (Jerremalm, Jansson, & Ö st, 1986a, 1986bÖ st, Jerremalm, & Jansson, 1984;Ö st, Jerremalm, & Johansson, 1981;Ö st, Johansson, & Jerremalm, 1982;Ö st, Lindahl, Sterner, & Jerremalm, 1984;Ö st, Sterner, & Fellenius, 1989). The participants were patients with agoraphobia, claustrophobia, social phobia, dental phobia, and blood phobia.…”

“…None of behavioral reactors showed significant differences in HR between pre-and posttreatment, probably since by definition they did not react much at pretreatment. Jerremalm et al (1986aJerremalm et al ( , 1986b divided patients with dental phobia and social phobia into physiological reactors and cognitive reactors by HR reactivity and answers to a self-report scale assessing thoughts during the stressor. Participants were randomized to AR (a physiologically focused method) or to self-instructional training (a cognitively focused method).…”

Specific Phobias

“…That has enabled subjects to accept one invasive dental procedure according to verifiable records in three studies (Bernstein & Kleinknecht, 1982;Harrison, Berggren & Carlsson, 1989;Jerremalm, Jansson & Oest, 1986). The studies that have tested cognitive therapy (De Jongh et al, 1995;Ning & Liddell, 1991) provide no evidence that the patients were more able to accept dental treatment even though improvements in anxiety on standard measures were recorded.…”