A Client Living in a Beachfront Community Is Seeking Help

question 17

Multiple Choice

A client living in a beachfront community is seeking help with an extreme fear of bridges, which is interfering with daily functioning. The psychiatric nurse practitioner decides to try systematic desensitization. Which explanation of this treatment should the nurse provide?

• A) "Using your imagination, we will attempt to achieve a state of relaxation."
• B) "Because anxiety and relaxation are mutually exclusive states, we can attempt to substitute a relaxation response for the anxiety response."
• C) "Through a series of increasingly anxiety-provoking steps, we will gradually increase your tolerance to anxiety."
• D) "In one intense session, you will be exposed to a maximum level of anxiety that you will learn to tolerate."

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Definitions:

Genetic Blueprint

A metaphor for the complete set of genes that an organism inherited, which determines its biological characteristics and development.

Maturation

The process of becoming mature; encompasses the physical, mental, and emotional developments that occur as a person ages.

Learning

A process that results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior that occurs as a result of experience or practice.

Growth Cycles

Periods of development characterized by rapid growth followed by more stable periods, applicable to both biological and economic systems.