Can you give a comprehensive explanation of in vivo desensitization?

Answer 1

In vivo means "in life." In vivo desensitization is a cognitive behavioral technique used to help someone deal with an unpleasant emotion, generally anxiety, by exposing them to increasingly more and more intense levels of anxiety and, in effect, creating a 'callousing effect' on them so that the event they are being exposed to, has less and less of an effect in terms of anxiety level. For example, people who fear crowds may first be exposed to a visual image of a crowd (a visualization technique often used with in vivo), and eventually be exposed to more and more people over time. The most important part of this technique is that the person stays with it until the anxiety level diminishes so that the person 'teaches' his body (particularly the limbic system), that there is nothing really to fear.