Question

Ernestine is terrified of elevators. She would rather walk up 100 flights of stairs than ride in an elevator. Even thinking about elevators makes her heart pound and her palms sweat. What type of therapy is that?

Answer 1

Answer:

The therapy that could help Ernestine overcome her fear of elevators is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Explanation:

CBT is very useful in treating such anxiety disorders. The three steps involved in CBT are

• Identifying the negative thought
• Challenging the negative thought
• Replacing negative thoughts with more realistic ones.

So a therapist that is working with Ernestine would probably ask her why she is scared of going into the elevator. Ernestine may answer that when she enters an elevator she gets dizzy and thinks she will die. She has identified the negative thought.

Her therapist would instruct her to challenge the negative thought. Has she ever felt dizzy and died when inside an elevator? No. That's challenging the negative thought.

Then replacing it with more realistic thoughts. If i enter an elevator and get dizzy, what do i do? Take slow, deep breaths.