When George was younger, he had experienced a very painful tooth extraction. Because he developed an extreme fear of dentists, he has not had a checkup in years. To help George overcome his irrational fear, a behavioral therapist is likely to use:

- the bell and pad treatment.
- systematic desensitization.
- rational-emotive therapy.
- antianxiety medication.

systematic desensitization

Explanation:

Systematic desensitization is a treatment given by behavior therapists to those people who have anxiety disorders, phobia or fear about something. The phobia can occur due to the results of negative experiences in the past.

In systematic desensitization, the person's fear is reduced by engaging the person in relaxation exercise by exposing him/her to the stimulus that produces anxiety in them. So here as George has fear of going to the dentist due to earlier experience therefore to help George a behavioral therapist is likely to use systematic desensitization.