Systematic Desensitization

A behavioral therapy intended to reduce or eliminate the consequences of phobias. Systematic desensitization follows a three-step therapy. During the first step, the therapist helps the client identify an anxiety hierarchy. To establish the anxiety hierarchy, the person has to list the anxiety-causing stimuli, as related to the specific phobia, in ascending order. The second step involves teaching the person relaxation techniques. While the type of relaxation technique may differ across therapists, what is important is that the person is able to engage in relaxation as directed by the therapist. During the third step, the person will address each item of the anxiety hierarchy while engaging in relaxation techniques. That is, the person imagines the anxiety-causing situation and tries to relax simultaneously. If the imagined situation remains anxiety causing, the imagining is stopped and the person solely focuses on relaxation. Starting with the least anxiety-causing item on the list, the person will progressively work through the list.

Systematic desensitization is based on the assumption that anxieties are acquired via classical conditioning. The purpose of the therapy is to weaken or eliminate the association between the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response. Systematic desensitization can be used for many phobias—for example, snake phobias or fear of heights. Systematic desensitization has been shown to be effective in the treatment of phobias.