Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a therapeutic technique that was created to help people face their fears. When you are scared of something, you tend to avoid it. Although this avoidance might help reduce feelings of fear in the short-term, over time the fear can grow and worsen. Exposure therapy involves exposing the client to the source of the fear (or its context) in a safe environment without the intention to cause any danger. The exposure to the feared situation, object, or activity helps to reduce fear and decrease avoidance. Exposure therapy can be helpful in the treatment of a number of issues, including PTSD, anxiety, OCD, and panic attacks. Think this approach might be right for you? Reach out to one of TherapyDen’s exposure therapy experts today.

Need help finding the right therapist?
Find Your Match

Meet the specialists

 

One of the most powerful ways we learn is by experience. People with high anxiety, phobias, and trauma had experiences that made them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Another powerful way we learn is through repetition, so when one has repeated negative experiences it can be hard to break the anxiety cycle/spiral even if one understands it cognitively. What this type of therapy does is break that loop by re-training the body as well as the mind, building confidence in each.

— Jennifer Brey, Counselor in , PA

When we feel anxious, we often avoid the things that make us feel anxious. This seems so logical, but really, this doesn't help us. In the long run, when we avoid the things that make us feel anxious, we're actually teaching ourselves that we cannot handle these things. Depending on who I'm working with, I may use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which is considered the gold standard for OCD.

— Danielle Wayne, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Boise, ID
 

Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) ERP is the primary treatment technique used and is the gold standard for OCD treatment. In ERP, we will guide you in a step-by-step process of exposing yourself to the thoughts and situations that are triggering your distress- without allowing a compulsion to stop the distress. Without the compulsive behaviors you will habituate to the distress and/or train the brain that the distress can be tolerated.

— North Shore OCD Women's Treatment Center, Ltd. Kathi Fine Abitbol, PhD, Clinical Psychologist in Deerfield, IL

Exposure therapy is an approachable, evidence-based practice to address and rapidly improve symptoms of anxiety, phobia, and panic. Clients who complete their exposure-based treatment tend to experience relief, pride, and improved self-esteem.

— Phil Small, Psychologist in Portland, OR
 

I am a behaviorist at heart so I use Prolonged Exposure Therapy and can pull from Exposure & Response Prevention.

— Kate Sayers, Licensed Professional Counselor in Milwaukee, WI

Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) ERP is the primary treatment technique used and is the gold standard for OCD treatment. In ERP, we will guide you in a step-by-step process of exposing yourself to the thoughts and situations that are triggering your distress- without allowing a compulsion to stop the distress. Without the compulsive behaviors you will habituate to the distress and/or train the brain that the distress can be tolerated.

— North Shore OCD Women's Treatment Center, Ltd. Kathi Fine Abitbol, PhD, Clinical Psychologist in Deerfield, IL
 

Particularly for OCD, Exposure and Response Prevention is the gold standard of care. ERP involves identification and rating fears associated with repetitive thoughts and obsessive behaviors or thoughts to neutralize the fears. Then, systemically and with great care and support, exposure treatment involves graded work on neutralizing the anxiety that arises when approaching rather than avoiding the feared stimulus.

— Tera Lensegrav-Benson, Psychologist in , UT

At the heart of exposure therapy is the ability to break-down challenges, approaching the challenge in one bite-size chunk at a time. It has reliably been shown to be a central element of many forms of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I have received extensive training in the implementation of exposure therapies across multiple conditions, including anxiety disorders and PTSD.

— Brian Buzzella, Clinical Psychologist in San Diego, CA
 

Exposure therapy is a type of psychological treatment that helps individuals confront and overcome their fears or anxieties. The basic idea behind exposure therapy is to gradually expose a person to the source of their fear in a safe and controlled environment. This process is designed to help them build confidence and reduce their emotional response to the feared object or situation. It is effective for treating various anxiety disorders, phobias, PTSD and OCD.

— Carole Goguen, Psy.D., Psychologist in Altadena, CA

Fear is a powerful emotion. Since 2019, a specialty of mine has been using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to help teens and adults who struggle with anxiety, panic disorder, social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). When you are able to use exposure in a therapeutic way, it become a powerful tool to help you break free of fear and live the life you desire.

— Michelle Henny, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Orlando, FL
 

Exposure therapy is not all about doing scary things all of the time. It is about the balance of challenging your beliefs and resisting going back to those patterns. We see it as a normal part of the brain to go to safety measures to experience less pain. Experiencing less emotional, physical, or mental anguish, we all want to get away from those. In fact, our brain says it is a true danger to experience these things. Lastly, exposure therapy is nothing without the response prevention.

— Lori Johnson, Licensed Professional Counselor in Lakewood, CO

I utilize exposure-based methods to treat many anxiety and fear-based symptoms including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and phobias. I will teach you how to approach your fear in such a way that it subsides quickly and allows you to build mastery over it. These techniques are among the most reliable and effective we have. Most clients are amazed at how effectively and efficiently these methods work for them.

— Joe Groninga, Psychologist in St. Paul, MN
 

Rumination-focused Exposure and Response Prevention is a modification of traditional ERP developed by a psychologist who experiences OCD himself. I find it to be both more approachable and more nuanced, and is a great option for both newcomers and ERP veterans.

— Jonathan Benko, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Santa Cruz, CA

I utilize exposure therapies when working with people who are diagnosed with OCD. I have trained with UPENN's Center For the Study and Treatment of Anxiety, who are the leading researchers and practitioners of exposure response prevention- an evidence based and extreme efficacious treatment modality.

— Morgan Flagg, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in South Burlington, VT
 

Exposure therapy is a type of psychological treatment that helps individuals confront and overcome their fears or anxieties. The basic idea behind exposure therapy is to gradually expose a person to the source of their fear in a safe and controlled environment. This process is designed to help them build confidence and reduce their emotional response to the feared object or situation. It is effective for treating various anxiety disorders, phobias, PTSD, and OCD.

— Carole Goguen, Psy.D., Psychologist in Altadena, CA

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is an evidence-based behavior therapy technique that is considered the gold standard treatment for OCD. ERP involves exposing oneself to situations that provoke obsessions (exposure) without performing the ritual or compulsion (response prevention). This process allows the brain to reach a point of habituation, decreasing anxiety. It is essential to do ERP with a trained professional. I have successfully treated clients using ERP for many years.

— Sahar Hussain, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York, NY
 

I have attended multiple training courses on this topic and have provided training and supervision in this area.

— Alison Schweichler, Counselor in Orchard Park, NY