Systematic desensitisation

Systematic Desensitisation is a type of behavioral therapy that was developed by Joseph Wolpe in the 1950s. It is primarily used to help individuals overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders.

Overview

Systematic desensitisation is based on the principles of classical conditioning and involves three main stages: relaxation training, construction of an anxiety hierarchy, and pairing relaxation with the anxiety-provoking stimuli.

Process

Relaxation Training

The first step in systematic desensitisation is teaching the individual relaxation techniques. These can include deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery. The goal is to enable the individual to achieve a relaxed state that can counteract the anxiety response.

Anxiety Hierarchy

The second step involves creating an anxiety hierarchy. This is a list of situations that provoke anxiety, ranked from least to most anxiety-provoking. The individual and therapist work together to create this list, which is then used in the desensitisation process.

Desensitisation

The final step is the actual desensitisation process. The individual is asked to imagine the least anxiety-provoking situation from their hierarchy while in a relaxed state. Once they can do this without experiencing anxiety, they move on to the next situation on the hierarchy. This process continues until the individual can imagine the most anxiety-provoking situation without experiencing anxiety.

Effectiveness

Research has shown that systematic desensitisation can be an effective treatment for a variety of anxiety disorders, including phobias, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it may not be as effective for individuals with more complex mental health conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or major depressive disorder.

See Also

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Exposure Therapy
• Fear Conditioning
• Joseph Wolpe