ABSTRACT
Behaviours deployed to eliminate, avoid, or reduce negative affect are subsequently negatively reinforced if they produce the desired result, however fleetingly. There are three ways in which antecedent cognitive appraisal can play a pivotal role: the meaning the client gives to the situation; and the meaning the client gives to experiencing this specific emotion. The role also includes positive connotations are connected to the emotion-driven behaviours and negative connotations are connected with most other behaviours. Before the actual exposure can start, the client and therapist need to explore the full extent of the client's safety behaviours. Flooding means the client is exposed to a trigger that elicits high levels of the negative emotion and remains exposed to the trigger until the anxiety is vastly reduced. The task of the therapist is to assist the client to continue with the exposure and to motivate the client to abstain from anxiety reducing responses that are normally used.
