Graded Exposure is a method in Cognitive Behavioral Theory in which you gradually work your way through situations that cause you anxiety. You start first by staying in a situation that causes the least amount of anxiety and gradually work your way up the ladder until you can stay in a situation that causes you the most anxiety.

In the example below, someone with the specific fear or phobia of dogs can use this gradual exposure hierarchy in order to help them overcome their fear.
The first step is exposure to something that causes the least amount of fear, like looking at a picture of a dog. Then they would work up the ladder of exposure until they could actually let a dog touch them.

In order for Graded Exposure to be effective, the following parameters must be maintained:

Graded - The exposure to fears must be done in a gradual way.

Prolonged - Each exposure level needs to be maintained until anxiety is reduced by about 50%.

Repeated - Each level of exposure needs to be repeated about 4 or 5 times a week or until anxiety is consistently reduced.

No Distractions - The goal is to face your fears and anxiety by experiencing the fact that the anxiety can reduce on its own without the help of distractions such as listening to music or detaching from the situation with relaxation exercises.