Exposure Therapy
WHAT EXPOSURE THERAPY IS
Exposure therapy is used for a wide variety of fears and uses different types of exposures, such as In vivo (real life exposures done in the physical world), Imginal (narrative-based exposures), and Interoceptive (physiological responses most commonly utilized in panic disorder-e.g., breathing through a straw or running up and down stairs). All variants of Exposure Therapy have several commonalities, including utilizing a mixture of exposures and working through a list or hierarchy of feared situations. The patient commits to experiencing the feared situations (exposures) without the presence of safety behaviors (rituals, compulsions, or avoidant behaviors).
WHAT EXPOSURE THERAPY TREATS
Exposure Therapy is proven to be highly effective for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia, and Simple Phobias. There are adaptations of Exposure Therapy for different concerns, such as Exposure Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Prolonged Exposure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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