ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon a case study of a woman named Carole who, in her middle years, started to suffer from severe agoraphobia. The case study tells of how she set about learning the art of relaxation, and then developed a hierarchy. She proceeded to visualise the tasks, each in their turn, and to carry them out in the external world with the author's help and encouragement. The chapter talks about the psychodynamic history of her life, which perhaps led her to suffer from agoraphobia so badly. It suggests that she concentrate upon observing the weather; how it felt to be outside in the air; the plants in her garden and the neighbour’s garden, too. This served as a distraction. Carole carried out this visualisation a number of times, each time undertaking the relaxation exercises first, until she was capable of thinking about the planned event without becoming panicky.
