reciprocal-inhibition therapy
A therapist guides a patient through reciprocal-inhibition therapy to reduce fear of public speaking.
Noun: A behavior therapy technique founded on the principle that a person cannot experience two opposing emotional or physiological states simultaneously. The therapy works by conditioning a new, positive response (like relaxation) to a stimulus that previously triggered an undesirable response (like anxiety), thereby inhibiting the old response.
This term is used in clinical psychology and psychotherapy to describe a specific therapeutic procedure. - The psychologist used reciprocal-inhibition therapy to help the client overcome their phobia of flying. - In reciprocal-inhibition therapy, deep muscle relaxation is often paired with the gradual exposure to an anxiety-provoking stimulus.
- The concept is a foundational element in systematic desensitization, a well-known therapy developed by Joseph Wolpe.
- It operates on the principle of reciprocal inhibition, where the nervous system cannot be aroused and relaxed at the same time.
- Systematic Desensitization (n): A structured therapy that commonly employs the principle of reciprocal inhibition to treat phobias and anxieties.
- Counterconditioning (n): A broader therapeutic process that includes reciprocal-inhibition therapy, where a new response is learned to replace an unwanted one.
- Counterconditioning therapy
- Response-substitution therapy
- Reciprocal Inhibition (n): The underlying neurological principle that the induction of one reflex inhibits the occurrence of another.
- Relaxation Training (n): A common technique used within this therapy to establish the incompatible calm response.
A therapist guides a patient through reciprocal-inhibition therapy to reduce fear of public speaking.
- a method of behavior therapy based on the inhibition of one response by the occurrence of another response that is mutually incompatible with it; a relaxation response might be conditioned to a stimulus that previously evoked anxiety