The psychology of fear of flying (part II): a critical evaluation of current perspectives on approaches to treatment

Abstract

This is the second of a two part review which critically evaluates research published in disparate sources into the psychological treatment of fear of flying. Part I established fear of flying as a complex heterogeneous clinical phenomenon. This paper discusses the way in which evidence from clinical trials translates to best practice in treating fear of flying. Published research on psychological interventions uses terminology which bears a close resemblance to cognitive behavioural therapy. It is, however, questionable whether some treatment approaches reflect the implementation of the cognitive behavioural model as it is described in the wider literature on the treatment of anxiety disorders. This review evaluates a synthesis of published research which considers fear of flying and related anxiety disorders with the aim of deriving best practice. It concludes that the most effective psychological interventions will be those based on an accurate functional assessment of an individual and their social context relevant to fear of flying and not merely a set of standard and invariant protocols. Most published research has been carried out on participants who self refer or volunteer for treatment and it is probable that this is a biased clinical group which may distort reported efficacy and treatment outcomes. It concludes by highlighting directions for future research and the development of psychological treatments for fear of flying.