Exposure therapy
Encyclopedia
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy intended to treat anxiety disorders and involves the exposure to the feared object or context without any danger in order to overcome their anxiety
. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction
paradigm in rodent work. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety disorders such as PTSD
and specific phobia
s.
Exposure-based therapy may be effective in preventing the progression from acute stress disorder to post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a report in the June 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
It is also very closely related to exposure and response prevention, a method widely used for the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder.
), which can be explicit ("static") or implicit ("dynamic" - see Method of Factors
), that work towards a final goal representing a "non-phobic" response. The patient then voluntarily moves through the steps, with a means of terminating each step which is under voluntary control.
While therapeutic exposure has a strong evidence base, many clinicians are uncomfortable performing the technique because they do not understand it or are not confident in their own ability to utilize it. This has prevented many who could benefit from this form of therapy from receiving it.
Exposure and flooding differ in that flooding starts at the most extreme item in a fear hierarchy, while exposure does not.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction
Extinction (psychology)
Extinction is the conditioning phenomenon in which a previously learned response to a cue is reduced when the cue is presented in the absence of the previously paired aversive or appetitive stimulus.-Fear conditioning:...
paradigm in rodent work. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety disorders such as PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
and specific phobia
Specific phobia
A specific phobia is a generic term for any kind of anxiety disorder that amounts to an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to specific objects or situations...
s.
Exposure-based therapy may be effective in preventing the progression from acute stress disorder to post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a report in the June 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
It is also very closely related to exposure and response prevention, a method widely used for the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder.
Techniques
Exposure therapy is based on the principles of respondent conditioning often termed Pavlovian extinction. The exposure therapist identifies the cognitions, emotions and physiological arousal that accompany a fear-inducing stimulus, and attempts to break the pattern of escape that strengthens the fear response, through measured exposure to progressively stronger stimuli until habituation is reached. The technique involves the creation of a program of steadily escalating steps or challenges (a hierarchyExposure hierarchy
In Exposure Therapy, a hierarchy is a graded list of stimuli that will generate an escalating level of arousal, for the purpose of producing habituation....
), which can be explicit ("static") or implicit ("dynamic" - see Method of Factors
Method of Factors
The Method of Factors is a technique in cognitive behavioral therapy to organise a session of exposure therapy. Rather than generating a list of objects or situations in advance representing escalating levels of arousal and intensity of fear for a particular phobia, the Method of Factors involves...
), that work towards a final goal representing a "non-phobic" response. The patient then voluntarily moves through the steps, with a means of terminating each step which is under voluntary control.
While therapeutic exposure has a strong evidence base, many clinicians are uncomfortable performing the technique because they do not understand it or are not confident in their own ability to utilize it. This has prevented many who could benefit from this form of therapy from receiving it.
Exposure and flooding differ in that flooding starts at the most extreme item in a fear hierarchy, while exposure does not.