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What Is Exposure Therapy? - How to Start It, Everything Explained

If you are facing phobias, fears, or any kind of post-traumatic stress disorder, exposure therapy might be helpful for you. However, before starting to consult with a professional, you must know exactly what it is. Keep scrolling to learn more about this therapy.

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What Is Exposure Therapy?

Exposure therapy is a psychological therapy that helps patients face their concerns. Individuals who are afraid of anything usually steer clear of the dreaded things, people, or circumstances.

In the short term, this avoidance may assist in lessening fearful sensations, but in the long run, it may exacerbate them. In these circumstances, a psychologist may suggest an exposure treatment programme to break the cycle of avoidance and fear.

In this type of therapy, psychologists establish a secure setting in which they"expose" patients to the things they avoid and are afraid of. Exposure to the dreaded things, actions, or circumstances in a secure setting lowers anxiety and avoidance.

Who Should Consider Exposure Therapy?

If individuals are facing any one of the following, they should go for exposure therapy.

Self-efficacy - Over time, exposure therapy can assist you in realising that you are capable of facing your fears and controlling the anxiety they bring on.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Imaginal exposure and OCD therapy can both dramatically lessen OCD symptoms. Learning how to control tendencies to act obsessively or compulsively when upset is a benefit of exposure and reaction prevention for OCD.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Although exposure therapy for PTSD may seem like a terrible thought, it is frequently the only way to recover from the event fully. Therefore, an approach for gradually lessening the distress associated with a traumatic incident is the use of prolonged exposure treatment for PTSD.
Anxiety - Exposure therapy is useful for increasing one's capacity to tolerate distress and sit with it. When one confronts the feared social circumstance with proper planning, exposure therapy for social anxiety can be a life-changing intervention. On the other hand, when it's important to work toward each step cautiously, gradually building in intensity as tolerance is created, progressive exposure therapy for social anxiety is used.

What Are the Types of Exposure Therapy?

There are four different types of exposure therapy. Your psychologist can assist you in choosing the approach that will work best for you. These consist of -

In Vivo Exposure: This involves a direct encounter with a feared thing, circumstance, or activity. For instance, the therapist will ask a person with a phobia of snakes to handle a snake, while a person who struggles with public speaking might be told to give a speech in front of a crowd.
Imaginal Exposure: Vividly visualising the thing, circumstance, or action you're afraid of. For instance, in order to lessen dread, the therapist will request a person with post-traumatic stress disorder to recall and explain a horrific experience.
Virtual Reality Exposure: When in vivo exposure is not practicable, virtual reality technology may be employed in specific situations. For instance, a patient with a fear of flying might use equipment that simulates an aeroplane's sights, sounds, and smells to experience a virtual flight in the psychologist's office.
Interoceptive Exposure: This method involves deliberately inducing fearful but innocuous physical feelings. For instance, a person with panic disorder might be told to run while being in a stationary position to make their heart beat faster and discover that this sensation is safe.

What Are the Techniques Used in Exposure Therapy?

There are various strategies to pace exposure therapy. These consist of –

Graded Exposure: The psychologist works with the client to create an exposure fear hierarchy, which ranks the severity of feared things, actions, or circumstances. They start with slightly to moderately demanding exposures before moving on to harder ones.
Systematic Desensitisation: To make the dreaded items, actions, or situations feel more manageable and to associate them with relaxation, exposure can occasionally be paired with relaxation techniques.
Flooding: It is an intensive type of exposure therapy in which a patient needs to face the maximum level of fear for an extended amount of time. In fact, under this technique one has to start with the most challenging tasks according to the exposure fear hierarchy.

What Are the Benefits of Exposure Therapy?

You can get the following benefits from exposure therapy:

Habituation With Phobias: Your reaction to the source of your anxiety may lessen with time as you expose yourself to it gradually and repeatedly.
Extinction of Fear: You can discover that the event you are afraid of doesn't actually threaten you in a safe atmosphere using exposure treatment. Instead, it aids in lessening the connection between the circumstance and the undesirable conclusion you anticipate.
Processing Your Emotions: This type of treatment might assist you in discovering and comprehending the origin of your fear. Additionally, CBT can make you more accustomed to feeling dread and worry by assisting you in replacing your automatic reaction with more sensible ideas and beliefs about the feared scenario.

How Effective Are Exposure Therapy Sessions?

Anxiety problems can be effectively treated with exposure therapy. After finishing their exposure therapy, between 60 to 90% of patients have either no symptoms or minor symptoms of their original illness. It may also increase its efficacy by combining exposure therapy with other therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), relaxation exercises, and others.

How to Get Started With Exposure Therapy?

During exposure therapy, therapists' methods change depending on the problem being treated.

This is what you might encounter.

Step 1: Your therapist or psychologist will begin the procedure by exposing you to the stimuli that cause your fear or anxiety once they find the root of the problem.

Step 2: They frequently employ an advanced approach, where they first expose you to a stimulus that is minimally feared or a milder form of your trigger.

Step 3: Your therapist will gradually expose you to more frightening stimuli in a secure setting.

Your progress will determine how many sessions and how long it will take to complete your therapy.

For instance, the therapist might begin your first session by showing you photographs of mice if you're scared of them. Then, they might bring a live mouse in a cage to the next meeting. Finally, the third session can involve holding a mouse.

How Long Should Exposure Therapy Last?

The truth is that, just like with all forms of therapy, the period of ERP therapy varies widely from person to person. It largely depends on how severe your symptoms are and which subtype of OCD you may be dealing with. People typically require between 12 and 20 sessions of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to notice some changes. However, this number can still vary depending on a wide range of variables.

Things to Consider While Opting for Exposure Therapy

Following are the things you must consider while taking exposure therapy:

Not Adopted by Many: Although exposure treatment is well supported by science, many therapists do not practise it. Some speculate that this is due to the scarcity of specialised expertise, while others think that exposure therapy may worsen some illnesses' symptoms.
Look Out for Discomfort: It's crucial to remember that exposure therapy can be very challenging for a lot of people. Therefore, you can anticipate experiencing the physical and mental discomfort that comes with frequently facing your anxieties head-on.
Talk to Therapist When Needed: There may be moments when you feel you are unable to tolerate the exposure procedures. If something isn't working for you or if you want to try a gentler approach, talk to your therapist about it.

That is all for exposure therapy. However, to fully benefit from treatment, it's crucial to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and be open to being challenged. That way, you can finally overcome your anxiety and reach a position where it's less noticeable.

FAQs About Exposure Therapy

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What is one of the cons of exposure therapy?

One negative thing about exposure therapy is that the symptoms can return if one ends the treatment prematurely.

How might exposure therapy be made simpler?

List everything - Make a list of the circumstances, locations, or things you are afraid of.
Construct a Fear Ladder - After making a list, order your items from the least to the most terrifying
Begin with Fear Exposure - Fear exposure should begin with the circumstance that makes you feel the least anxious
Practice - Regular practice can help in adopting exposure therapy
Reward courageous actions - After you achieve what is required under exposure therapy reward yourself