Graduated Exposure Therapy is an approach to psychotherapy to help deal with fears, phobias and other anxieties. It is also known as Systematic Desensitization. It was developed by Joseph Wolpe, a South African psychiatrist and influential figure in behavior therapy. It is based upon the principles of classical conditioning & counter-conditioning and shares similarities with the approach of Applied Behavioral Analysis and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Steps in Graduated Exposure Therapy:

i. Identification of the anxiety/fear-inducing stimulus and creating a hierarchy to help clients in working through their fears in a controlled manner by using the subjective units of distress (SUDs).
For example, a client afraid of snakes might have a lower level of fear when seeing a picture of a snake whereas the same client would have a much stronger reaction or level of fear when they see a live snake near them. The fear hierarchy is developed by exploring fear/anxiety-inducing situations that range between the lowest level of fear to the highest level of fear

ii. Equipping the clients with relaxation exercises and coping strategies. For example, the client with the fear of snakes develops the fear hierarchy with the help of the therapist and then the therapist teaches them relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation, JPMR, meditation and allied

iii. Systematically going through the hierarchy by first exploring the least amount of fear-inducing situations in the developed fear hierarchy, using the relaxation tools to react and overcome the imagined scenario in a better manner and gradually working through, till the highest level of the hierarchy is achieved. It is aimed at increased coping techniques and working through anxieties/ fears

It can be helpful with various issues: