Behavioral (behavioral) psychotherapy is one of the most common methods of integrative psychotherapeutic influence in the world, which deals mainly with behavior and, to a lesser extent, with the client’s inner world. At one time it was one of the three main directions in psychotherapy. In Russia it is known as conditioned reflex psychotherapy. Methods of behavioral psychotherapy are based on learning theories. The main theoretical basis is the theory of conditioned reflexes by I.P. Pavlov. The features of behavioral psychotherapy include the following: 1) the therapist teaches clients to respond to situations in life the way they would like (this makes behavioral therapy similar to non-directive therapy); 2) behavioral psychotherapy does not affect the emotional essence of relationships and the sense of personality; 3) deals with a symptom rather than the problem behind it. In essence, this is symptomatic psychotherapy; 4) the main thing in the work of a behavioral therapist is changing the patient’s behavior. This method gives effective results for a wide range of borderline disorders, including depression, anxiety, panic attacks, states of mental maladjustment and various types of interpersonal conflicts. Of particular interest are anxious states (anxiety, diffuse, specific and obsessive fear, increased fearfulness, timidity, anxious anticipation). In modern behavioral therapy, there are several dozen methods that, along with eliminating pathological disorders, are also used to teach new, desirable and “healthy” forms of behavior. The psychotherapeutic process begins with conversations that have the task of finding out the events that caused the patient's neurotic syndrome, as well as the circumstances that led to the intensification and alleviation of the syndrome. This is followed by familiarization with the patient using anxiety questionnaires. Having received an idea of ​​the patient’s neurotic reactivity, the doctor explains to him the essence of neurosis as a habit of maladaptive behavior. Moreover, the situation of a conversation with a doctor already causes a reaction that is antagonistic to fear. Among the techniques of behavioral therapy, the method of systematic desensitization, developed by J. Volpe, occupies an important place. The method includes two elements: * the formation of a new reaction that has nothing to do with fear, and * conditioned inhibition of fear. The method that follows from this is to very gradually demonstrate to the client, who is in a state of complete relaxation, the sequence of circumstances that cause fear. By combining stimuli that cause fear and that are antagonistic to fear, counterconditioning occurs and the old reflex is extinguished. Fear can be opposed to: 1) assertive responses - aggressive behavior, active external expression of feelings incompatible with fear 2) sexual reactions; 3) relaxation; 4) respiratory reactions; 5) fear reduction reactions; 6) competing conditioned motor reactions; 7) reactions of pleasure; 8) conversations that encourage positive emotional reactions; 9) response to the experience. Among the methods of inhibiting fear, reactions that widely involve the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system are of particular importance. The first task is to select reactions suitable in this case.