What is desensitivity?

Systematic desensitisation is a type of CBT (Cognitive behavioral Therapy) mainly focussing on the behavioral component. It is used for people who have specific types of Phobias e.g. Agoraphobia (fear of being trapped).

It is very simple but an effective treatment. Initially the patient is taught some relaxation exercises to use during the therapy. The therapist will usually sit with the patient and come up with a list of situations that cause anxiety to the patient. The patient will then list them in a hierarchal fashion with the least anxiety provoking situation to the most anxiety provoking situation. They will start with the least anxiety provoking situation exposing the patient to it and ask them to utilise the relaxation techniques to prevent the anxiety. This has to be done repeatedly and once this situation does not cause any anxiety, the patient will move to the next step in a graded manner.

This requires active participation and repeated practice from the patient but the therapist can help with this initially.

Systematic desensitization would involve a schedule of gradual exposure to a situation, or a food or drink, or a fear, the purpose of which would be to enable the subject to eventually accept the situation previously unable to handle.