A patient arrives in your office with a severe fear of spiders. You treat this patient by gradually introducing her to snake images, snake toys, and eventually live snakes in order to show her that nothing bad happened in the presence of these objects. You are using the therapeutic technique called
A)Cognitive therapy
B)Systematic desensitization
C)Operant conditioning
D)Multidimensional therapy

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The therapeutic technique described involves gradually exposing the patient to feared stimuli (snakes in this case) in a controlled environment until the patient no longer responds with fear. This is the process of systematic desensitization. Cognitive therapy involves addressing negative thought patterns and beliefs, operant conditioning involves altering behavior through consequences, and multidimensional therapy is a more comprehensive approach that considers multiple factors in a person's life. These techniques may be used in conjunction with systematic desensitization, but they do not fully encompass the technique described in the scenario.

A Patient Arrives in Your Office with a Severe Fear