Asked by Kris

Opal was in a bad car accident and has developed a phobia of driving. How might a cognitive-behavioral therapist use systematic desensitization to help her get over her fear?
Systematic Desensitization
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The therapist should train her to relax and then have her enact or imagine progressively more fearful scenarios from her fear hierarchy.
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The therapist should teach her ways to avoid driving until she feels better.
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The therapist will omit the relaxation component and skip right to exposing Opal to low levels of the feared stimulus.
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The therapist should first advise Opal to take a drive on the highway with a close friend for moral support.
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The therapist may instruct Opal to use a computer-simulated driving program.
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Not Systematic Desensitization
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All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Systematic Desensitization
- The therapist should train her to relax and then have her enact or imagine progressively more fearful scenarios from her fear hierarchy.
- The therapist may instruct Opal to use a computer-simulated driving program.

Not Systematic Desensitization
- The therapist should teach her ways to avoid driving until she feels better.
- The therapist will omit the relaxation component and skip right to exposing Opal to low levels of the feared stimulus.
- The therapist should first advise Opal to take a drive on the highway with a close friend for moral support.

(Explanation: Systematic desensitization pairs relaxation training with graded/imaginal or simulated exposure. Avoidance, skipping the relaxation/hierarchy, or immediate high-intensity exposure are not part of systematic desensitization.)