Flooding (Psychology)

Flooding is a behavior therapy technique for phobias and anxiety disorders in which a person is exposed directly and continuously to a feared stimulus, rather than approaching it gradually, until the fear response subsides. Developed by psychologist Thomas Stampfl in 1967, the method rests on the idea that a fear response cannot be sustained indefinitely and will decline once a person remains in the feared situation long enough to learn that the danger they expect does not occur. Exposure can be delivered in person, through imagination, or by virtual reality, and while it often works quickly, some clinicians consider it more distressing for patients than gradual approaches.