
In 1960, a psychologist named Joseph Wolpe treated a teen girl with car phobia by shoving her into his vehicle and driving her around town for an entire afternoon while she screamed and cried.
By the end, she was completely calm.
Wolpe declared her cured.
His method became known as implosion therapy. If you flood someone with stimulus, you exhaust their fear response. They no longer react to the threat. So therapists began coercing their patients to confront their fears, locking claustrophobics in closets and dragging agoraphobes to crowded shopping centers. It worked, except when it didn't. When it didn't, it caused severe panic attacks and lifelong trauma.
Implosion therapy is a more radical form of exposure therapy, where patients build up tolerance to their fears over time. It's not used much anymore. Instead of throwing someone in a dark closet, therapists are more likely to guide patients through exercises where they imagine fears or relive past …