Progressive Exposure
The second component of systematic desensitization is gradual exposure to the feared object(s) or situation(s). Continuing with the snake example, a therapist might begin by asking the patient to develop a fear hierarchy which would list the relative unpleasantness of various levels of exposure to a snake. For example, seeing a picture of a snake might elicit a low fear rating, compared to the imagery of live snakes crawling on the individual---the latter scenario becoming highest on the fear hierarchy. Next, the patient would be presented with increasingly unpleasant levels of the feared stimuli, from lowest to highest---while utilizing deep relaxation techniques (i.e. progressive muscle relaxation). The imagined stimuli used in the previous example might include: a picture of a snake; a small snake in a nearby room; a snake in full view; touching of the snake, etc. At each step in the imagined progression, the patient is desensitized to the phobia through exposure to the stimulus, and while in a state of relaxation. As the fear hierarchy is unlearned, anxiety gradually becomes extinguished.
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Famous quotes containing the word progressive:
“The history of modern art is also the history of the progressive loss of art’s audience. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the bafflement of the public.”
—Henry Geldzahler (1935–1994)