National Counselor Exam (NCE)

Systematic desensitization and flooding are ___________ techniques.

1. Psychodynamic

2. Cognitive

3. Behavioral

4. Humanistic

The correct answer is: Behavioral

Systematic desensitization and flooding are behavioral techniques designed to help individuals confront and reduce their fears and anxieties. These approaches are grounded in principles of classical conditioning and aim to modify maladaptive responses to specific stimuli. In systematic desensitization, clients are gradually exposed to anxiety-provoking stimuli while practicing relaxation techniques. This gradual exposure helps to diminish the anxiety response over time. The goal is to associate the feared object or situation with a calming response instead of anxiety. Flooding, on the other hand, involves the immediate and intense exposure to the feared object or context in a controlled environment, without the gradual buildup. This technique allows the client to confront their fears directly, which can lead to rapid desensitization to the stimulus through the process of extinction, as the individual learns that the feared consequences do not occur. These techniques are firmly rooted in behaviorism, which focuses on observable behaviors and the ways they can be changed through conditioning. Thus, identifying them as behavioral is accurate and aligns with their theoretical underpinnings and practical applications in therapy.