Transactional Analysis Journal

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A Treatment for Flying Phobia

Ron Ohlson

To cite this article: Ron Ohlson (1980) A Treatment for Flying Phobia, Transactional Analysis
Journal, 10:4, 304-308, DOI: 10.1177/036215378001000406

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1177/036215378001000406

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TA Treatment Strategies

A Treatment for Flying Phobia

Ron Ohlson

Abstract flying or falling. One man remembers his

A treatment metbodology for flying father strapping him into a plane and doing
pbobias, utilizing a combination of TA and aerobatics, while another remembers
bebavioral principles and tecbniques is des- standing on a bridge railing and falling,
cribed. Tbe etiology of tbe pbobia is dis- just being caught at the last moment. The
cussed in terms of early cbildbood experience, child's Little Professor then generalizes
actual aircraft misbaps, early injunctions, thoughts and decisions from the early
and learned bebaviors. Treatment involves experience to later, more complex situa-
evaluation, relaxation training, decontami- tions that have the same cues. Similar
nation and redecision work, systematic de- thinking is also involved in the decision
sensitization, and stroking for reinforce- to become counterphobic, thus avoiding
ment. A unique in vivo desensitization the fear of death by pretending that the
procedure utilizing a f1oat-equipped air- fear does not exist at all.
plane is discussed. A second cause of phobias is participa-
tion in an actual aircraft accident or mishap.
Survivors of aircraft accidents, including
In the aftermath of recent air carrier seasoned pilots, are often quite phobic for
tragedies, many people experience appre- several weeks, months, or years following
hension about flying. This author, build- the accident. These phobias are the result
ing on the work of the Gouldings (1977), of severe contamination in which primitive
has developed a method to treat the most and intuitive Little Professor thinking is
intense flying avoidance behavior, the confused with adult facts which mayor
phobia. This condition is characterized by may not be accurate. The Adult then seem-
severe anxiety to the point of panic, some- ingly agrees that the so-called "facts" are
times even in response to the fantasy of true, which then legitimatizes the feeling.
getting on an airplane. Some people deal The Gouldings have pointed out a third
with their phobia by sedating themselves source of phobic behavior in early childhood
with alcohol or drugs in order to fly. Others injunctions (Goulding and Goulding, 1978).
simply decide not to fly in favor of some Probably the most power injunction involved
other form of transportation. Still others in flying phobias is the Don't Exist injunc-
become counterphobic, behaving as if tion. This is often reflected in an intense
they are not afraid when in actuality they fear of heights, in which the person has
are quite frightened. struggled with a past impulse to suicide by
Flying phobias appear to develop in at jumping off a high place. The Don't Be
least four different ways. First of all, the Close injunction often produces claustro-
person may have had an early childhood phobia, which occurs as a person is strapped
experience in which he was terrified by into the tight confines of an aircraft cabin,

"Similar thinking is also involved in the decision to become

counterphobic, thus avoiding the fear of death by pretending
that the fear does not exist at all."
©Copyright Ron Ohlson, 1980.

304 Transactional Analysis Journal

 A TREATMENT FOR FLYING PHOBIA

and then sometimes is confused with fear havior in a number of areas. In the case
of flying when in reality it is a fear of of panphobics, it might be wise to success-
closeness. fully treat a phobia of more limited inten-
The third injunction is Don't Trust. This sity before attempting to treat the flying
is especially crucial in flying because under phobia. This would result in significant
few other circumstances must a person decontamination which can aid in later
more clearly entrust one's life to another treatment of the more difficult phobia.
person and machine than when the cabin
door closes on an aircraft and the pilot Step ~, Relaxation Training
takes command. For most people with Wolpe (Wolpe, 1968) has significantly
severe fears of flying, all three of the above demonstrated that the relaxation response
injunctions are operating and redecision is incompatible with anxiety and therefore
work will necessarily be done with each can be substituted as an incompatible
one in order to effect a cure of the flying response in the phobic situation. Thus,
phobia itself. each patient is taught a progressive,
Fourth, fear of flying or almost any gradual relaxation technique. The pro-
other phobic behavior may be a learned cedure is taped and the patient is encouraged
behavior. A parent who is frightened to the to practice the relaxation exercises on a
point of phobia about almost anything can daily basis until he is able to voluntarily
serve as a very potent model of avoidance move from a tense to a relaxed state imme-
behavior for the observing child. The diately.
child's Little Professor therefore will
decide that since parents are perfect and Step 3, Covert Systematic Desensitization
are frightened about something, then he Once the relaxation response has been
also must be frightened to the same degree developed, the patient cooperates in de-
that the parent-model is frightened. These veloping an approach hierarchy (Kanfer
learned responses tend to persist, often even and Phillips, 1970, p, lSI) of frightening
in face of adult information. to the con- stimuli associated with flying. Thus he is
trary, especially if the avoidance behavior first asked to put himself in the relaxed
is stroked by the model. Thus, a flying- condition and then progressively move
phobic parent may model phobic behavior closer and closer to the feared stimulus.
to the child and then reinforce the avoid- The hierarchy may begin with the patient
ance behavior by appreciating the child for imagining being at home packing luggage
staying home and being a good companion in preparation for a flying trip. The hierarchy
while the rest of the family goes on a may continue with driving to the airport,
flying vacation. parking the car, going to the ticket counter,
The following are the procedural steps waiting in the waiting room, entering
involved in treatment of a flying phobia: the aircraft, fastening the seat belt, and
hearing the aircraft door close. This is the
Step 1, Life Script Interview most frightening moment for most flying
Each phobic patient is given a detailed phobics because at that point they are
Life Script Interview (Holloway) in order trapped in the aircraft and unable to get
to establish script information, especially off until the plane has landed. By a process
with respect to injunctions that are operat- of reciprocal inhibition (Wolpe, 1968, p. 12),
ing. The Fear Survey (Wolpe, 1968, p, 172) the patient is encouraged to relax com-
is also administered in order to assess the pletely in the face of frightening stimuli
degree to which a person is target-specific until the fear disappears, at which time the
in phobic behavior or to which he is pan- patient moves to the next most feared
phobic, demonstrating avoidance be- stimulus. The patient is also exposed to

"These learned responses tend to persist, often even in face of

adult information to the contrary ... "

Vol. /0, No.4, October 1980 305

RON OHLSON

" ... the patient may be asked to restate this redecision several
times throughout the flight by visualizing her parent in the
back seat of the aircraft, saying the same words again."
an audio tape in which instructions are pilot to keep me safe, and I am not going
given concerning the entire flight. The to jump out or fall out of this airplane."
patient is instructed to relax at various In addition, the patient may be asked to
intervals throughout the imaginary flight restate this redecision several times through-
until he has landed and is inside the terminal out the flight by visualizing the parent in
where he is told to give himself positive the back seat of the aircraft, saying the
strokes for having made the imaginary same words again. Redecision about
flight successfully. closeness can be accomplished in group
prior to getting aboard the airplane.
Step 4, Decontamination Process
Since most phobias involve a contamina- Step 6, In Vivo Desensitization
tion of the Adult by the Child (Woollams This step involves actual desensitization
and Brown, 1978), decontamination in- in the aircraft. One of the reasons why
volves obtaining adult information about flying phobias are sometimes difficult to
flying. In order to strengthen Adult ego modify compared with other behaviors is
state boundaries, the patient is given specific that there is no way of successive approxi-
instructions about the nature of flight, air mation of small steps toward the desired
traffic control, air traffic safety, and goal. For example, in desensitizing a snake
emergency procedures. In addition, the phobia it is possible for the phobic person
patient may visit several types of aircraft, to take one step toward the snake and relax
from light planes to large commercial air- or take a step backward, only approaching
liners, and may also visit the local air the snake under relaxed conditions. Since
traffic control center in order to witness the aircraft only involves two phases of
firsthand how radar separation is main- operation-taxiing and flying-successive
tained with all types of aircraft. approximation is extremely difficult.
However, this author has devised a tech-
Step 5, Redecision Work nique using a float plane which allows for
The patient is next encouraged to work successive approximation, gradually
the second degree impasse in order to calming and deconfusing the frightened
establish redecisions around the original Child. With the aircraft on floats it can be
injunctions of Don't Be Close, Don't Trust, taxied on the water and is actually a boat
and Don't Exist. This may be effectively until it is airborne. Thus, on a large lake
accomplished in an office setting, but it has it is possible to taxi the plane at varying
been demonstrated to be more potent when speeds until the patient becomes relaxed
actually carried out in an aircraft. For at that particular operation and is ready
example, while sitting in the passenger's to proceed to the next operation. If the lake
seat of the aircraft prior to starting the is large enough, it is possible to actually
engine, the patient tightens the seat belt very take off, fly a few feet, and land again,
tightly, closes the door, latches it, and allowing the patient to become relaxed with
then is asked to visualize his injunctive the idea of flying a little bit at a time. In
parent standing outside the aircraft. He this procedure the passenger's controls are
is then asked to say in a loud voice the removed from the aircraft in order to avoid
following words. "I am going to trust this disastrous consequences from a panic reac-

"Since an aircraft only involves two phases of operation-

taxiing and flying-successive approximation is extremely
difficult."

306 Transactional Analysis Journal

 A TREATMENT FOR FLYING PHOBIA

"In addition, a patient may be encouraged to roar occasionally

throughout the procedure as an alternative to the relaxation
response. "
tion on the part of the patient, who may It is possible in a light plane to overcome
suddenly grab the nearest object in sight related height phobias by increasing altitude
to hang on to when frightened. That ob- in l00-foot increments until the patient be-
ject is usually a control wheel in a small comes frightened. At the time it is possible
aircraft. (This probably accounts for a to reduce altitude until the patient is more
number of major aircraft fatalities in light relaxed. Obviously, this is not possible in
planes: The accident is attributed to pilot commercial airliners and is one of the ad-
error when in fact the phobic passenger vantages of utilizing light aircraft to
may have grabbed the controls at a critical desensitize phobias. At each point the
moment.) patient is stroked for both relaxing and
After redecision work outlined in Step setting limits. In addition, the length of the
5, the aircraft engine is started and the flight may be varied beginning with a very
plane taxies out on the water. Through the short flight on the first day and gradually
aircraft intercom the patient gets a calm, lengthening the time that the patient is
detailed explanation of everything that is actually in the air. It is always best to
happening so that there are no surprises stop before the patient is actually ready to
and questions are quickly answered. The stop, thus giving the patient the clear idea
passenger is encouraged to relax. When that it is not absolutely necessary for him to
sufficient power is applied to cause the push his limits. This creates a maximum
aircraft to plane on top of the water like a experienceof safety for his Child.
highspeed boat, the noise of the engine
often is quite frightening to phobic patients. Step 7, Generalization to Larger Aircraft
This author has discovered that encouraging Once the avoidance behavior has been
the patient to scream or shout as loud as inhibited in the light aircraft, it is then
possible at this moment will diminish the possible to generalize it to larger aircraft.
fear. It is important that the noise emitted For the most part these behaviors generalize
at that point be an aggressive roar rather easily. Once a patient has become secure
than a frightened scream. In addition, a in a light plane, he usually is much more
patient may be encouraged to roar secure in a much larger aircraft. In these
occasionally throughout the procedure as cases the phobic point is most likely going
an alternative to the relaxation res- to be reached at two points-first of all
ponse. Both the roar and the relaxation when the door of the aircraft is closed and
response are incompatible with anxiety, escape is no longer possible, and secondly
through the process of reciprocal inhibition. as the plane departs the runway for a climb-
As the plane attains flying speed while out. In the first instance the patient is asked
planing on the water, it can be lifted off to reassure his Child and once again make
the surface of the lake briefly and the a redecision stating to himself and if
patient is asked to notice this. If the patient possible to another person that he is going
indicates that he is still frightened, the to trust the pilot and the aircraft. At the
plane can once again be lowered to the point of liftoff the patient is encouraged to
surface of the lake and the power reduced utilize either the relaxation or roar techni-
until the relaxation response returns. The que as a reciprocal response to fear. The
process can be repeated until the patient is latter can be accomplished by putting an
relaxed or assertive enough to begin actual article of clothing over his mouth, keeping
flight. At that point the principle of suc- the mouth open and making possible a
cessive approximation can be achieved if muffled scream. It is best to have him
there is unlimited airspace. inform fellow passengers that he is going to
Vol. to. No.4, October 1980 307
RON OHLSON

do this. Prior to flight on a commercial may offer reduced rates for group desensi-
airliner or larger aircraft, the client is asked tization flights. The Federal Aviation
to review the relaxation, desensitization Agency will assist in flying safety informa-
procedures, and, using earphones on his tion lectures. By utilizing this procedure
tape recorder, to play his densensitization within the availability of other resources,
and relaxation tapes during the flight. the TA therapist may experience success
in modifying a difficult phobia.
Step 8, Stroking
It is advisable to have a stroke session Ronald W. Ohlson, PhD, ABPP, RM,
following successful completion of any is Director, Ohlson Psychological Services,
stage of this program. The procedure is in Anchorage, Alaska.
best conducted in groups so that as a
patient returns from a flight he is warmly
stroked by members of the group, whether REFERENCES
Goulding, M. Phobias. Transactional Analysis
he has demonstrated phobic behavior or Journal, 1977, 7(1),44.
not, creating a climate of warm acceptance Goulding, R., & Goulding, M. The power is in the
and eliminating performance anxiety. patient. San Francisco: TA Press, 1978, 227-247.
The above procedure is effective and can Holloway, W. Clinical transactional analysis with
be modified to meet the situation demands the use of the life script questionnaire. Aptos,
of each individual therapist. By being California: Holloway Books.
creative, the therapist may modify the pro- Kanfer, F., & Phillips, J. Learning foundations of
cedure to fit the availability of pilots, behavior therapy. John Wiley and Sons, 1970,
147-172.
instructors, and aircraft, which can be
Wolpe, J., & Lazarus, A. Behaviortherapy techniques:
chartered for the purpose of the program. A guide to the treatment of neuroses. Pergamon
The airlines are usually quite cooperative Press, 19687, 54 rr., 172 f.
in allowing people to visit the cockpit of the Woollams, S., & Brown, M. Transactional analysis.
aircraft between flights and sometimes Dexter, Missouri: Huron Valley Institute, 178, 36f.

Thanks to Ronald Ohlson for a superb explanation of treatment of flying phobias!

This article is clear, both theoretically and practically. I'm especially appreciative of
his use of actual flying in desensitization. Non-pilot therapists could use his techniques
by employing an interested pilot.
I do not use Wolpe's relaxation techniques because I find excitement a better anti-
dote to fear. Parents tell their children to "calm down" and "relax" when something
fearful is about to be done to the children, such as just before innoculations or even
preparation for surgery. Therefore, the command to "relax" may induce fear. Fun
and excitement, instead, can be used as Ron uses them when he has clients yell and
growl over the sounds of the plane motor. We also have clients make their fears
funny; for example, they may say, "If I watch the wing, it won't falloff," or "As
long as I'm scared, Pilot, I am safe, but if i stop being scared, God knows what you'll
do with this plane!" Such spoofing of Child-magic counter-acts the injunction,
"Don't feel too good or something bad will happen." Also, when the client is
experiencing the take-off or the flying, either in fantasy or actuality, the client will
have much more fun being excited by the view than by repeating to self that it is
important to relax.
-Mary McClure Goulding

308 TransactionalAnalysis Journal