Systematic desensitization to the phobia to elevators

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33539/avpsicol.2021.v29n2.2412

Keywords:

Systematic desensitization, elevators phobia

Abstract

The case study addresses a 19-year-old male patient who, in the last six months, has experienced intense and irrational fear of entering elevators in the various contexts. As a consequence, the patient has progressively isolated himself from his friends at university, friends from work, from his relatives and from his girlfriend, in order to avoid using the elevators and hide the phobia. The systematic desensitization technique is used in the treatment. This procedure allows the patient to learn to be exposed to the stimuli that generate aversion and in this case it is to use the elevator. The systematic desensitization technique includes the process of training in progressive muscle relaxation, establishing a hierarchy with situations that generate anxiety, training in the imagination through a gradual exposure of anxiety situations and live exposure to unpleasant situations. The intervention process takes place in ten sessions. This is an applied research and uses a univariate multiconditional design of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The results indicate that, in the pretreatment baseline,
fourteen problem behaviors were identified; in comparison to the measurement of the post-treatment line, where the problem behaviors were not identified. Therapeutic benefits were maintained after one month of follow-up.

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Author Biography

Giuliana Margarita Obregón López, Investigador independiente

Licenciada en Psicología y Magister en Psicología Educativa por la Universidad César Vallejo. Título de segunda especialidad profesional en Terapia Cognitivo Conductual por la Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal. Estudios concluidos de la Maestría en Psicología Clínica y de la salud en la Universidad Ricardo Palma. Actualmente labora en Consultorio psicológico privado.

Published

2021-11-05

How to Cite

Obregón López, G. M. (2021). Systematic desensitization to the phobia to elevators. Avances En Psicología, 29(2), 253–266. https://doi.org/10.33539/avpsicol.2021.v29n2.2412