How do you intervene in the phobia of dogs in psychotherapy?

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

To make the diagnosis of phobia it will be necessary that a dysfunctionality appears in the patient, that is, that her 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 find it and not be able to avoid it in any way. For this reason it will be necessary to carry out a psychotherapeutic intervention.

In this article We will see what is dog phobia and what are the techniques that have been seen most effective for its treatment.

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What is dog phobia?

Dog phobia, or cynophobia, is a specific type of 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 supports it, he does it with great discomfort). Within the phobias we have different types the Diagnostic Manual of the Psychology Association Americana (DSM) talks about three characteristic types: agoraphobia, social phobia and phobia specific.

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

Specific phobia is considered the anxiety disorder with the highest prevalence in the general population, although it is also the one that generates the least problems and disabilities, since in many cases the stimuli that are feared or are unlikely to be found or the subject avoids them. In this way, the criterion of alteration in the functionality of the person's life, necessary to diagnose, is rarely met. Typically, 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 or more months.

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 according to whether the anxiety occurs before some type of animal, before the sight of blood, injections or wounds, before situations or before a natural environment or environmental. The phobias of each group will have a tendency to start at different ages, being also more characteristic in one sex or another.

In reference to the phobia of animals, also called zoophobias, which is the category where fear of any type of animal is classified, it usually appears for the first time in childhood. That is, it has its onset 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 compared to men.

In this way, dog phobia will be defined as a disproportionate fear or anxiety of dogs, consolidating normally during childhood, and which may be due to an event traumatic that the affected subject lived with a dog. Also add that there may be variations depending on the cause of cynophobia, for example, you can be afraid of all dogs in general, regardless of their characteristics or specific dogs can be feared, depending on their size, color or race.

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How is phobia of dogs in therapy treated?

The probability of encountering the stimulus that generates this type of phobia, that is, with a dog, is high in the society in which we live. In the same way, it will be difficult to predict when we can meet one, thus making it difficult for us 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 lives and therefore with high probability we need specific treatment.

Like all phobia, cynophobia has a genetic predisposition for its development, this wants In other words, if the parents have a phobia of animals, it is more likely that the children also have. Although it is not the only cause, it will also affect the experiences that the subject has had, for example, if he has experienced a bad experience with a dog or if you have 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 similar to the one applied for the treatment of specific phobias in general.

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1. Treatment by exposure

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

Explained in more detail, the live exposure consists of presenting, in this case, the stimulus of the dog more or less gradually (following an ascending intensity or difficulty curve) and maintain their presence in order for the subject to can face him, and thus achieve that the anxiety and fear that appear before the dogs decreases and ends disappearing. Since this type of technique generates high anxiety so that it is not unbearable for the subject and can cope better, it is recommends that during the first exposure sessions the movement of the dog is limited, so that the patient feels a little more sure.

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

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 a presentation through virtual or augmented reality, which refers to using a simulator to create the sensation in the individual in front of a dog.

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

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2. Psychoeducation

Although, as we have already said, live exposure is the most effective treatment for this disorder, other strategies have also been used. Along with being exposed to the stimulus, it is also recommended to carry out a phase of psychoeducation. This consists of give information about the feared stimulus, in this case the dogs, in order to correct and modify erroneous, unrealistic beliefs that the patient has.

In the same way, it can also be beneficial and necessary to teach and train him in skills to know how to better deal with or handle the animal; for example, what is the best way to approach or touch a dog.

3. Participant modeling

It has also been seen that applying participant modeling technique combined with live exposure can yield positive results, and is recommended when it is necessary to teach management skills to the patient.

Participant modeling is characterized by being a process where a model, usually the therapist, performs and guides the patient to know how to act in the best way in the face of the feared situation. Above all, the introduction of this technique has been beneficial in achieving better results in interventions carried out on children.

4. Cognitive behavioral therapy

In reference to other techniques used and that have also shown a certain degree of effectiveness are those used in cognitive-behavioral therapies, thus introducing strategies such as anxiety management, which can be done for example through relaxation or use of more cognitive techniques such as cognitive restructuring, which consists of modifying beliefs unreal.

Finally, it should be noted that the use of psychotropic drugs is not considered effective to treat specific phobias, only in some particular cases can it 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 remove it.