Two University faculty members are working to sort out campus fears. Anxiety Disorders Clinic Director Tom Davis and research study coordinator Kim Zlomke organized a study examining the differences between people who have intense fears and those who do not. The study also compares people who prefer to attend a one three-hour therapy session and people who prefer three one-hour therapy sessions. The study began this semester and will continue for about 10 more months. Davis said he plans to apply for a grant that could extend the study for three more years. Davis said the fears exhibited depend on seasonal and regional situations. “What I’ve most commonly seen here are [fears of] dogs, spiders and roaches,” he said. “When I worked in Virginia, I saw [people afraid of] dogs, snakes and bees. It just depends on what you’re exposed to.” Davis said the study has limitations. He said the study will not address blood, injection, injury and air travel fears because of medical and ethical reasons. People with these fears can visit the Psychological Service Center for support or further information. The study is open to those living in the Baton Rouge area over age 18 regardless of whether they have fears. Davis said people with intense fears will receive free exposure therapy. Participants without intense fears are eligible for an iPod raffle and extra credit in participating psychology classes. “We’re actually getting a pretty good response,” he said. Zlomke said their goal is to have 64 people with intense fears complete the exposure therapy sessions by May. “We need about the same number of people without these fears to compare to them,” she said. All participants sign an informed consent form, which assures confidentiality and explains the experiment’s details. Davis said one goal of the study is to find out why people with intense fears do not seek treatment. “Only about 10 percent [of adults] have these intense fears, but out of that 10 percent only about 12 or 15 percent actually try to seek out help for them,” he said. Davis is currently conducting between two and five exposure therapy sessions per week. He said he will eventually allow senior-level graduate students to conduct the therapy sessions after completion of an observation period and training. Zlomke, who plans to conduct therapy sessions in the future, said exposure therapy sessions slowly help individuals conquer their fears through a series of steps eventually leading to a physical confrontation with that fear. “The key word here is ‘eventually,'” she said. “We don’t pressure them to confront things before they’re ready. That scares a lot of people.”
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]