Exposure therapy for phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

When abnormal fears or excessively compulsive behavior begin to rule a person's life, the consequences can be devastating to both patient and family. But three quarters of cooperative patients can be restored to normal functioning through a form of therapy based on exposing the patient continually to the stimuli that evoke symptoms until they can be tolerated and the phobic or compulsive behavior dissipates.