Exposure Therapy
Definition
Exposure therapy is a psychological treatment that helps people confront and reduce fear and anxiety by gradually exposing them to the feared object, situation or traumatic memory in a safe environment.
Analogy
Think of exposure therapy like learning to swim. At first, you might be terrified of the water. But as you gradually get used to it - first dipping your toes, then wading in up to your knees, and finally swimming - the fear lessens.
Related terms
Systematic Desensitization: A type of exposure therapy where a patient is exposed to an anxiety-producing stimulus while simultaneously being engaged in some type of relaxation.
Flooding: A form of exposure therapy where instead of gradual exposure, the person is immediately exposed to their greatest fear until they learn that it's not harmful.
Habituation: The process by which an organism reduces its response to repeated presentations of non-threatening stimuli; this concept underlies how exposure therapy works.
"Exposure Therapy" appears in:
Study guides (2)
Practice Questions (14)
Which approach combines cognitive restructuring, stress inoculation training, and exposure therapy to treat anxiety disorders?
In terms of psychological interventions, what is exposure therapy primarily used for?
How does exposure therapy seek to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
What experimental design would best explore whether exposure therapy is more effective for treating specific phobias than general anxiety disorder?
How might exposure therapy for phobias contribute to depressive symptoms?
What ethical concern might arise when using exposure therapy to treat a patient with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Why would a therapist use exposure therapy technique for someone who has a phobia?
Why does exposure therapy play a crucial role in treating phobic disorders?
How does exposure therapy aim to reduce phobias?
How does systematic desensitization differ from flooding in terms of exposure therapy?
Why has exposure therapy been criticized when treating phobias?
Why might exposure therapy fail when treating phobias?
What could be a practical way to assess the effectiveness of exposure therapy on patients with agoraphobia by using current technology?
How would you experimentally test if Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is effective in reducing PTSD symptoms compared to exposure therapy?
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