In mental disorder: Behavioral psychotherapy …can be gradual (sometimes called desensitization) or rapid (sometimes known as flooding). Contrary to popular belief, the anxiety that is produced during such controlled exposure is not usually harmful. Even if severe panic initially strikes the sufferer, it will gradually diminish and will be less likely to return in the… Read More
behaviour therapy
In mental disorder: Development of behavior therapy … of his technique of systematically desensitizing patients with phobias, beginning by exposing them to the least-feared object or situation and gradually progressing to the most-feared. Behavioral therapies were more quickly adopted in Europe than in the United States, where psychoanalytic precepts had exercised a particular dominance over psychiatry, but by… Read More
treatment of neurotic disorders
In neurosis: Treatment …through a process known as desensitization; someone afraid of heights, for example, would be gradually exposed to progressively greater heights over several weeks. Read More
