flooding

• flooding involves a single exposure to the most feared stimuli
• patient is exposed to the feared stimulus until the fear disappears
• 1


  the patient is taught how to relax their muscles completely
• 2


  patient confronts their feared stimulus while engaging in the competing relaxation response
• 3


  patient eventually masters the feared situation that caused them to seek help in the first place
• flooding works because it prevents the patient from avoiding the feared stimulus
• the association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is extinguished
• extinguished


  as a result the conditioned stimulus no longer causes a conditioned response