Graded Exposure Hierarchy is a CBT technique for overcoming fears and phobias by building an ordered ladder of feared situations from least to most challenging.
Confronting fears all at once causes flooding and avoidance. Breaking feared situations into a gradual hierarchy allows progressive mastery and habituation at each step:
“I can't handle doing the biggest terrifying step right now.”
Camic guides you through building a 5-to-10 step exposure hierarchy and systematically tackling each level when you are ready.
Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition. Stanford University Press. Foa, E.B., & Kozak, M.J. (1986). Emotional processing of fear: Exposure to corrective information. Psychological Bulletin, 99(1), 20–35. Craske, M.G. et al. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 10–23.
