Explain how systematic desensitization might be used to treat a person with a phobia of heights
What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER:
Systematic desensitization involves replacing a fear or anxiety response with an incompatible response of relaxation and positive emotion. Anxiety and relaxation are competing responses. You cannot feel both at the same time; you can only feel one or the other. So the aim of systematic desensitization is to have a client learn how to relax and then slowly and systematically introduce the feared object, situation, or thought while the client maintains a positive state of pleasure or relaxation.
?
Systematic desensitization is accomplished in three basic steps. First, the client is trained in progressive muscle relaxation. Once the client has learned progressive relaxation, the client and therapist develop an anxiety hierarchy. An anxiety hierarchy is a list of situations or items that trigger a client’s anxiety or fear. In the third step, progressive relaxation and the anxiety hierarchy are combined. Relaxation is paired with each item in the hierarchy. As the client becomes able to imagine a feared situation and remain relaxed, the next item in the hierarchy is addressed. Over several therapy sessions, this systematic process continues until the client has become desensitized to all items in the hierarchy.
You might also like to view...
The most recent research on deinstitutionalization found that __________.
A. inpatient hospitalization has been increasing due to the failure to provide adequate care in the community B. inpatient hospitalization has continued to decrease, despite an increase in resulting problems C. inpatient hospitalization has continued to decrease, and communities have stepped up their response to improve outpatient care D. inpatient hospitalization has been increasing due to increasing numbers of mentally ill patients
Patricia, age ten, refuses to wear dresses and insists on being called Pat. She knows she is a girl, but she says boys have it better. She prefers playing with boys and only plays the games they play. She says she wants to be a football player and a mother when she grows up. Pat has __________.
A. transsexualism B. transvestism C. gender identity disorder D. no disorder
Dr. Raneri is studying which personality traits are not good for our health. Dr. Raneri is most likely to find that ____, ____, and ____ are most related to poor health
a. ?hardiness, competitiveness, lack of control b. ?hostility, lack of control, learned helplessness c. ?competitiveness, time urgency, learned helplessness d. ?commitment, anger, time urgency
Jim is 56 years old, slightly overweight, with elevated blood pressure. His wife reports that he snores loudly. What sleep disorder seems to fit Jim's symptoms?
a) narcolepsy b) sleep apnea c) sleep terror d) REM sleep behavior