Using a hospital for desensitization of an outpatient's illness-related fears.
An outpatient with phobias related to enclosed places, hospitals, doctors, and cancer was treated by systematic desensitization; the facilities of a general hospital were used for part of the process. Steps in treatment included securing a complete psychiatric and social history, teaching the patient relaxation therapy techniques, and establishing a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking stimuli specifically related to the patient's fears. After desensitization the patient was able to enter the hospital for tests for a physical ailment and showed a general decrease in her fears.
D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D012064:Relaxation Therapy