In the 1960s Arthur Bandura began to experiment with “Guided Mastery.” He found individuals with a fear of snakes so great they would drive miles out of their way to avoid anywhere that had the possibility of even housing one. He found someone so afraid of jewelry they weren’t able to touch or wear it. These are Chuck McGill and Monk level phobias.

One by one he had these patients come into a laboratory divided into two rooms. One had Bandura fondling the snake, the other held the patient observing Bandura through a one way window. Slowly the patients were brought into the same room, gradually getting closer and closer to the snake itself. Finally, Bandura had the patients touch the snake with his guidance. By the end of the experiment, many patients were able to sit with the snake on their laps.

Months after the experiment had ended the woman reported being more confident, more likely to ask for raises and voice their opinions at work. Their fear of snakes never came back. This was the beginning of a field of psychology now known as CBT (no, not that CBT), I mean Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It also has a lot of overlap with exposure therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). In essence, these are all methods designed to help people gain confidence and overcome their fears.