Types of TreatmentTreating anxiety can be difficult. Not only is anxiety something that's been created from years of experiences - anxiety also fuels itself, causing it to create a type of anxiety cycle that requires a great deal of intervention in order to treat successfully.
Cognitive behavioral psychologists depend on many tools to try to break that cycle and improve your ability to control anxiety. One such tool is known as exposure therapy, and studies have shown it is one of the most effective ways to combat short and long term anxiety. |
Systematic Desensitization |
Consists of training someone to be deeply relaxed and pairing the relaxation with the exposure to the situations that evoke anxiety
also known as graduated exposure therapy is a type of behavior therapy used in the field of psychology to help effectively overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders. While using the relaxation exercises they go throughout anxiety provoking tasks from smallest anxiety provoking situation to the largest anxiety provoking situation Time consuming Ex: Agoraphobia – fear of heights Person is taught relaxation techniques and encouraged to use them while looking at a picture of a skyscraper. They eventually graduate the to standing at the edge of a building with little to no anxiety. |
Flooding |
is a form of behavior therapy based on the principles of respondent conditioning. It is sometimes referred to as exposure therapy or prolonged exposure therapy. As a psychotherapeutic technique, it is used to treat phobia and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder. - Invented by a psychologist named Thomas Stampfl in 1967 - Based on the principles of classical conditioning - Can be traumatic, not the best treatment for everyone - Often necessary if phobia is interfering with everyday life - Commonly used today by behavioral therapists across the world |