Exposure Therapy

Exposure Therapy

Exposure Therapy as a type of psychotherapy

To assist patients to overcome their fears of items, activities, or situations, exposure therapy is a type of psychotherapy. It is used to treat PTSD and phobias by therapists and psychologists.

Fearful people tend to avoid fearful objects and situations. Safe exposure to distressing stimuli is the aim of exposure treatment, according to the American Psychological Association.

Exposure Therapy

Definition

Exposure therapy helps people overcome their worries and anxieties by breaking the fear and avoidance habit. In the controlled environment Anxiety-inducing stimuli are shown to you.

Example

Anxious people avoid crowded locations and parties. To help a client feel more at ease in these situations, a therapist may use exposure therapy.

It is useful in four ways:

• Emotional processing Exposure therapy helps create reasonable responses to a traumatic experience.
• Extinction. To unlearn a frightening object or event, employ exposure treatment.
• Habituation. Your therapist determines the duration and sessions.
• Self-efficacy. Exposure therapy shows you can conquer your worries and anxieties.

What forms of exposure therapy exist?

• In vivo exposure Realizing your fears requires confronting them. Arachnophobes might run into a spider, for example.
• Mind-opening exposure Visualize an object or situation vividly. A bird-phobic person should envision themselves on a beach full of seagulls to calm their nerves.
• Exposure to virtuality VR technology can be used when the source of fear is difficult to locate in the real world. Fear of flying? Try a flight simulator.
• Interoception provides sensory exposure. It’s safe since it generates a physical reaction. Fearing lightheadedness as a sign of a stroke, the patient may be instructed to stand up immediately.

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Exposure treatment can help with what conditions?

The following are the exposure treatments which are used to treat the anxiety disorder

• Anxiety syndrome (generalized)
• A person with OCD has a strong need to do something repetitively (OCD)
• phobias
• Psychologically, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) happens after social apprehensions

What is exposure therapy’s method of action?

Here are some possible outcomes.

• After identifying the root of your fear or anxiety, your therapist or psychologist will begin the therapy by exposing you to the feared stimuli.
• This is often done in stages, starting with a little feared stimulus or a mild copy of yours.
• Your therapist will gradually expose you to scarier stimuli in a controlled setting.
• Your therapist determines the duration and sessions.
• For example, if you’re afraid of mice, the therapist may start your first session by showing you mouse photos. They may bring a caged live mouse in the next session. In the third session, you may need to hold a mouse.

 

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