How Exposure Therapy Works

Exposure therapy is a cognitive behavioral therapy. It can be used to treat many different anxiety disorders and is widely used to treat phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. Exposure therapy can be very effective and can have long term benefits for some. However, some people drop out of this therapy very early because it can cause increased anxiety at the outset of treatment.

Exposure therapy works by exposing someone to their fears and anxieties repeatedly and for long periods of time. The idea is that after being exposed to these things on a regular basis, and seeing that they pose no real threat (apart from anxiety and stress), you will eventually become desensitized to them. This, of course, can be difficult for the sufferer as it is human nature to avoid thoughts, feelings, objects and activities that cause us anxiety. Moreover, because the therapy is prolonged and repeated, it often exacerbates your fears before alleviating them.

People being treated with exposure therapy will probably not see positive results right away. Hopefully, over time, the therapy will help the recipient realize that their panic and anxiety is often disproportionate to the perceived threat. Eventually a person’s reaction to stress can be readjusted through experience. In essence, this is likely what caused the problem to begin with.

There are a few different approaches to exposure therapy. A therapist may conduct exposure therapy in their office, or they will require that you conduct self exposure outside of the office. Either the way the therapy should be repeated and should require that you be exposed for a specific amount of time. A therapist may even use a combination of these approaches.

Exposure therapy in a therapist’s office often consists of reminding the patient of traumatic events or fears. Sometimes they even have you do activities that induce panic like symptoms. The goal is to induce stress, for a period of time, in a controlled environment. This is usually done in correlation with breathing and relaxation techniques. These are usually taught before or during the therapy. This way you are learning to cope with these issues and can apply your coping mechanisms outside of the therapist’s office.

Self-exposure is done out of the therapists office. Typically, the therapist will give you an assignment that requires you to expose yourself to things you fear for a specific amount of time. For example, if you are afraid of crowds, your therapist might ask you to go to a mall on a Saturday and stay there for a few hours. You made be asked to record your experience in a journal. You will, most likely, have an appointment, soon after the task, to discuss your results. Sometimes your therapist may even accompany you or suggest that you have a loved one do so.

Exposure therapy may be given with different levels of intensity. You may be bombarded with reminders of the things you fear most, right out of the gate. It may also be approached more gradually, usually depending on the patient’s needs or the therapist’s preference. The most important thing for recipients of exposure therapy to know is that it usually takes some time and a lot of effort. While exposure therapy does not work for everyone, it can work and has been proven to work for many people. There is always a hope for recovery from anxiety disorders.

Sources

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