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 self ... might be regarded as a sort of citadel of the mind, fortified without and containing selected treasures within, while love is an undivided share in the rest of the universe. In a healthy mind each contributes to the growth of the other: what we love intensely or for a long time we are likely to bring within the citadel, and to assert as part of ourself. On the other hand, it is only on the basis of a substantial self that a person is capable of progressive sympathy or love.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)