We were lucky enough to receive a talk from Mrs Skinner, a psychologist who colourfully enlightened classes on the fascinating application of psychology.
After studying psychology at university, Mrs Skinner went on to work in a crisis team where she would work closely with people with extreme mental illnesses and phobias, including a man who developed a phobia of the supermarket due to its busy, overwhelming atmosphere, especially with young kids. These stressful experiences led the man to become increasingly avoidant of the supermarket until he developed an extreme phobia that eventually translated to his inability to visit big spaces like shopping malls. This phobia was detrimental to this man's everyday life, as supermarkets and shopping malls are common occurrences.
A phobia can be defined as the persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity, or situation. The work that Mrs Skinner and many others do in working through phobias is vital to allow so many people to live a happy, healthy life.
The process of overcoming phobias includes systematic desensitisation- a gradual exposure to a phobic stimulus (in this case supermarkets) to reduce a patient's fear surrounding their phobia. Mrs Skinner went on to explain the importance of her own therapy/supervision and support sessions as a mental health worker, due to the tragic and sensitive issues she had to deal with daily.
This beautifully highlights the importance of therapy being important for everyone in life to maintain their health, not just for patients with severe mental health issues.
Eloise, SFC1
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