Question 1
What is systematic desensitization and its purpose?Question 2
When discussing psychological treatments, what is flooding?Answer 1
If anxiety is learned, it can be unlearned. This is guided exposure to anxiety provoking stimuli, either in real life or imagination. The client is confronted with his or her fear in a gradual way. The client and therapist together make a hierarchy of the clients fear. The client is taught a relaxation technique. Then the client imagines him- or herself or actually gets into the lowest fear level situation, while relaxing. Once the client can stay at that level and be relaxed, he or she moves to the next level. This pairs an incompatible behavior with anxiety - counter conditioning.Answer 2
Flooding is a type of exposure therapy where the patient directly faces what he or she fears. Unlike systematic desensitization, where the patients works up to facing what they fear gradually, the patient is immediately "flooded" with a direct presentation of the feared stimulus.