Question

A client approaches a therapist to overcome her/his phobia for heights. Describe a behavioral technique that the therapist might choose to help her/him to overcome this phobia for heights.

Answer 1

• Systematic Desensitization: the therapist prepares a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking stimuli with the least anxiety-provoking stimuli at the bottom of the hierarchy. E.g., the fear of lifts.
• Each session is accompanied by relaxation exercises. Reciprocal inhibition principle -Wolpe.
• Over sessions, the client is able to imagine more severe fearprovoking situations while maintaining the relaxation. The client gets systematically desensitized to the fear.