the gradual exposure or anxiety-arousing stimuli related to the phobia, moving up a anxiety hierarchy from 5 to 100 (degree of fear) until fear is overcome - developed by Wolpe 1958
relaxed state
allows a client to counter-condition their fear with a harmless response (conditioned stimulus no longer paired with unconditioned response), gradually causing extinction
what is flooding?
the inescapableexpose to the feared stimulus without avoidance
suggests fear response can't be sustained and will eventually become extinct, sometimes leading to a relaxed state and even positiveassociation to stimulus
e.g. arachnophobia - placed in a room with spiders
