Sequential treatment involving systematic desensitization and relaxation, symbolic (film), live, and participant modeling were employed in the successful alleviation of a severe snake phobia. Implications are discussed regarding the utility of programs attuned to the needs of individual patients. (Author)

Ten compulsive behaviors were recorded by a client during 23 weeks of counseling. The frequency records indicated sizeable decreases in the behaviors following relaxation, with additional, smaller decreases following desensitization. Changes in the MMPI and Fear Survey Schedule corroborated the client's self report of improved functioning. She had…

Compared effectiveness of counterconditioning and self-control models of systematic desensitization in reducing targeted and nontargeted anxieties. Treatments were equally effective in reducing and maintaining reduction of targeted anxiety, debilitating test anxiety. (Author)

Compared experimental desensitization with a procedure that replaced relaxation with a distraction task and with an approach that combined both relaxation and distraction. Desensitization generally was more effective than the other two procedures. (Author)

In this article, the authors present a multilevel (or hierarchical linear) model that illustrates issues in the application of the model to data from meta-analytic studies. In doing so, several issues are discussed that typically arise in the course of a meta-analysis. These include the presence of non-zero between-study variability, how multiple…

Investigated the effects of therapy modality and self-disclosure tendency and gender. High N=40 and 40 low scorers on a modified self-disclosure questionnaire were asked to rate audiotapes of simulated therapy sessions on several dimensions. High self-disclosers preferred client-centered therapy and low self-disclosers preferred systematic…

Women, self-referred for dental anxiety, were given four weeks of cue-controlled relaxation treatment. Nonorthogonal planned comparisons indicated significant decreases on dental anxiety, anxiety differential, and state anxiety scales, and systolic blood pressure. Participants reported that treatment was helpful in controlling anxiety when…

A 22-year-old female graduate student who suffered colitis attacks at the onset of therapy was apparently successfully treated by a procedure in which the therapist labeled antecedent stress events that appeared to be precipitating the attacks. The client was then taught a behavioral coping strategy to counter the stress events. (Author)

Expectancy instructions were introduced six times during the four-week treatment, and effectiveness of these instructions was demonstrated with independent nonreactive measures of subjects' expectancies. An analysis of self-report, behavioral, and unobtrusive measures of snake anxiety revealed significant main effects for instructions, with…

Provides detailed information on systematic desensitization, describing in detail the procedures of imaginal desensitization. Briefly describes variants of group, in vivo, massed, and self-administered desensitization. Outlines guidelines for appropriate selection and use of desensitization and presents sampling of research findings with diversity…

The relationship between three behavior therapies and the experimental behavioral sciences is examined. It is concluded that behavior therapy is one of the few media within which the relevance of the experimental behavioral sciences to clinical medicine can be demonstrated. (Author)

Students with examination anxiety took part in study of effectiveness of two kinds of treatment, structured psychodrama and systematic desensitization, in reducing test anxiety. Results showed that subjects in both treatment groups significantly reduced test-anxiety scores. Structured psychodrama is as effective as systematic desensitization in…

Considers counseling techniques of systematic desensitization, anxiety management training, systematic rational restructuring, and stress inoculation. Identifies unique and complimentary strengths of each technique with clients manifesting different types of anxiety. Provides both conceptual and research approaches to such an identification. (NB)

Compared the efficacy of two behavioral anxiety reduction techniques against "subconscious reconditioning," an empirically derived placebo method. Examination of within-group changes showed systematic desensitization produced significant reductions in test and trait anxiety, and remaining treatments and the placebo demonstrated…