Feasibility of an Online Modeled Exposure in Spider Fearful Individuals

Participants will watch a short psychoeducation video online. This will be followed by a modeled exposure online. In this modeled exposure participants watch a film of an exposure treatment (about 45min) conducted with one participant and the therapist. The exposure training consists of five exposure steps (step 1: describing the spider, step 2: catching the spider with a glass, step 3: describing the spider, step 4: touching the spider with the dominant index finger, step 5: letting the spider walk on the participant hands; the following steps have to be repeated up to four times: 2,4,5).

Participants will watch a short psychoeducation video. This will be followed by a live modeled exposure. In this modeled exposure participants watch an exposure treatment (about 45min) conducted live with one participant and the therapist. The exposure training consists of five exposure steps (step 1: describing the spider, step 2: catching the spider with a glass, step 3: describing the spider, step 4: touching the spider with the dominant index finger, step 5: letting the spider walk on the participant hands; the following steps have to be repeated up to four times: 2,4,5).

Exposure training in the group is conducted live (1 spider per participant, one therapist and co-trainers). In this group exposure participants complete exposure training (about 45 min) with five exposure steps (step 1: describing the spider, step 2: catching the spider with a glass, step 3: describing the spider, step 4: touching the spider with the dominant index finger, step 5: letting the spider walk on the participant hands; the following steps have to be repeated up to three times: 2,4,5).

Before the group exposure, participants are asked to remember the modeled exposure they had observed the day before. Therefore, the participants are asked to recall the location where they have been during the modeled exposure and the reaction of the patient during the exposure (e.g., fear decline).