Marlowe and Reilly are newlyweds. They see a therapist because Marlowe is afraid of sexual intercourse. The therapist asks Marlowe exactly which acts make her anxious, constructs a hierarchy of those threatening acts, teaches her to relax, and asks her to imagine each threatening scene in the hierarchy and use the relaxation technique to reduce her anxiety as she imagines each scene from the bottom to the top of her hierarchy. What technique is the therapist using?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The therapist is using systematic desensitization, a technique commonly used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders. It involves constructing a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations and teaching the person relaxation techniques to use while gradually exposing them to the feared situations, starting with the least anxiety-provoking and moving up the hierarchy.

Marlowe and Reilly Are Newlyweds