A 40-year-old woman who is a known case of anxiety disorder and has prominent symptoms of frontal headache is being treated with a procedure in which the tension in the frontalis muscle is measured regularly. The readings are projected on to a computer screen, which patient can see. She is then taught to use mental techniques to decrease tension in this muscle. Which of the following treatment techniques does this example illustrate?
The treatment technique described here is biofeedback. In this treatment, the patient is being given ongoing physiological information, in this case the muscle tension in the frontalis muscle. With the help of his feedback, she learns to use mental techniques to control the tension and keep her muscles in a relaxed state.
Implosion
Biofeedback
Aversive conditioning
Flooding
Neurotic, Stress Related and Somatoform Disorders