Exposure therapy is a way to help patients face their fears. Typically when we are afraid of an object or situation, we tend to avoid them. While this is helpful in the short term, it creates a growing sense of fear or dread in regard to these objects in the long term. Therapists will create a safe environment of “exposure” that helps to break the cycle of avoidance and fear in the patient. This could start small, with the therapist instructing the patient to practice imaginal exposure—simply imagining in vivid detail that which scares them. Treatment can also include in vivo exposure, or directly handling the object or situation which causes fear. Whatever the method, exposure therapy that occurs in a safe environment with the trained therapist is an effective way to deal with a host of phobias, social anxieties, or PTSD.
Agoraphobia is a fear of places or situations which creates an escalating crescendo of anxiety that is accompanied by a sense of pending doom. Often present with this fear are associative avoidance ha...
View Condition
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by suffering from a sense of undo worry or concern about a number of different things. Those who suffer from GAD can find themselves incessantly preoccupi...
View Condition
PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is caused by overwhelming trauma that is experienced directly or indirectly and leads to emotional constriction of intrusive symptoms. These symptoms can inclu...
View Condition
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. The phobia typically results in a rapid onset of fear and is present for more than six mon...
View Condition