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Exposure Therapies

behavioral techniques that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imaginary or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid

Systematic Desensitization

a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli; commonly used to treat specific phobias

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

a counterconditioning technique that treats anxiety through creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face specific fears, such as flying, spiders, or public speaking

Aversive Conditioning

associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

Token Economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange tokens for privileges or treats

Cognitive Therapy

therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy

a confrontational cognitive therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

Group Therapy

therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, providing benefits from group interaction

Family Therapy

therapy that treats people in the context of their family system; views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members

Confirmation Bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Meta-Analysis

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

Evidence-Based Practice

clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and client characteristics and preferences

Therapeutic Alliance

a bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client, who work together constructively to overcome the client's problem

Psychopharmacology

the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior

Antipsychotic Drugs

drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorders

Antianxiety Drugs

drugs used to control anxiety and agitation

Antidepressant Drugs

drugs used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder

Electroconvulsive Therapy

a biomedical therapy for severe depression in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized person

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity

Psychosurgery

surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to change behavior

Lobotomy

a psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients; this procedure cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain

Hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Dissociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

Posthypnotic Suggestion

a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired behaviors and symptoms

Posttraumatic Growth

positive psychological changes following a struggle with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises