Joseph Wolpe was a behavioral psychologist in South Africa who actually studied cats more than dealing with clients. Cats, like people, can be very anxious. But Wolpe realized that there were several things cats could do that seemed to interfere with their anxiety. They could calm themselves, for example, by grooming themselves. Or that they could eat. Eating and being nervous seemed to be incompatible. You may have noticed that for yourself: some of us, when we're nervous, like to eat. We feel better, at least for a while. Others, when nervous, cannot eat, because anxiety interferes with digestion. It's one or the other!
Wolpe reasoned that the most obvious thing that is incompatible with anxiety is being physically relaxed. Hence, Wolpe created a therapy capable of curing anxiety, the so-called "systematic desensitization." In the following Psychology-online article we will tell you how to cure anxiety according to the therapy of Joseph Wolpe.
Index
- First stage
- Second stage
- Other therapeutic approaches
First stage.
In your first session with the therapist, he or she teach you how to relax physically- You will be asked to squeeze a muscle group such as your stomach for several seconds and then that you release them, as well as paying close attention to feeling these two conditions: tense and relaxed.
This is done for the main muscles of the body. With the help of a chart, you will have to practice this routine every day for a week. In that same session, you will also develop a anxiety hierarchy. This is made up of ten scenarios that make you anxious, each one worse than the last.
For example, a person with a spider phobia may have as a first scenario seeing a small spider in the air at a distance. Your last scenario may involve something like having a very large hairy spider crawling on your face.
Second stage.
After you have practiced relaxation for a week, you will return to the therapist. He or she will ask you to relax as much as possible, and then he or she will read the first scenario for you to imagine. You should try to cget a picture of the situation as good as possible, all while paying attention to the muscles to make sure you stay relaxed.
If you stay relaxed, the therapist moves to the next scenario. There will be a predetermined signal, such as raising your finger, to tell the therapist that you are having trouble staying relaxed, at which point he or she will reverse the problem scenario and allow you to re-relax muscles. Usually in that session, or perhaps a second, you will be able to even imagine worst case scenario and still you will manage to be relaxed. This is one of the best techniques to treat anxiety problems that we have today.
Other therapeutic approaches.
There are, of course, many other approaches to therapy. Some are respected and effective, others are just plain absurd. One thing to keep in mind if you ever need to seek treatment for yourself or someone close to you:don't be afraid to ask questions about the approach a therapist uses or consulting with trusted people or appropriate agencies about the qualifications of a therapist!
Psychological therapy is still more of an art than most medical therapies, and the patient must be careful.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to Cure Anxiety: Joseph Wolpe's Therapy, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
