Anxiety Therapist Answers: What is Exposure Therapy?
Anxiety Therapist Answers: What is Exposure Therapy?
Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC
You often decline invitations to birthday parties, family gatherings, or after-work drinks, saying you're too tired or have other plans, just to avoid feeling judged or awkward in social situations. You refuse to go on family vacations that require flying because you are too afraid of it.
You've lived with anxiety for so long that avoiding uncomfortable situations, thoughts, and feelings has become so natural. But deep down, you know that avoiding everything that provokes anxiety will not make things better in the long term. Maybe you've heard about exposure therapy and how effective it can be for treating anxiety, and now you're searching online for "exposure therapy near me." Still, the idea of facing the things you fear can sound scary, or at the very least, uncomfortable. You might be wondering, “What exposure therapy actually treats?” “When is it not recommended?” or “Could it really help with my anxiety or phobia?”
I am an anxiety therapist, and I'll answer these questions and more in this article so you can make an informed and confident decision when choosing the right anxiety treatment in Orlando. Exposure therapy is one of the most researched and effective forms of anxiety treatment in Orlando and beyond.
What is Exposure Therapy?
Exposure therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps people confront their fears in a safe and controlled environment.
But what does this really mean? When we are afraid of something, whether it's spiders or difficult conversations, we tend to avoid these things. However, the best way to break free from anxiety is not avoidance. Avoidance might reduce our feelings of discomfort in the short term, but it doesn't solve the problem. It just keeps it going. The best way to move beyond anxiety is to step into a feared situation. This exposure to feared situations, thoughts, or feelings helps reduce fear and decrease avoidance.
But facing your fears can feel overwhelming because your body goes through a lot of stress. That's where a skilled anxiety therapist steps in. In exposure therapy, an anxiety therapist exposes you to things you fear and avoid. They help you feel safe while also guiding you to face your fears regularly and consistently.
You might also find helpful: How to Find the Best Therapist in Orlando
Anxiety Treatment in Orlando: The Steps of Exposure Therapy
A Fear Hierarchy
Exposure therapy can be best described as facing your fears in a controlled situation. Together with your anxiety therapist, you will create a list of situations that you fear. You will start with a situation that feels the least uncomfortable and progress to the most frightening. This is called the exposure hierarchy, and it's a common technique used in exposure therapy.
Gradual Exposure
In future exposure therapy sessions, your therapist will guide you through facing these situations, starting with the least frightening ones. For example, if you have arachnophobia, you might start by simply looking at photos of spiders. As you build tolerance, you could move on to watching videos and eventually manage to hold a spider in your hand or even let one walk on your arm.
Desensitization
Through repeated exposure, you eventually learn that you can stay in these moments without avoiding or escaping. Over time, the situations that once triggered intense fear become more manageable and less distressing.
What is the Main Goal of Exposure Therapy?
The goal is to stay in a situation that you fear long enough to learn that you can handle it.
Why Exposure Therapy Works?
Exposure therapy really works for anxiety because, step by step, you learn to tolerate discomfort and begin to associate feared situations with a sense of safety and control, rather than overwhelming anxiety. This helps you stop avoiding those situations.
What Exposure Therapy May Treat?
My clients often ask me who exposure therapy is for. Exposure therapy has been backed by research, and it really works for people who experience:
Phobias
Exposure Therapy with Response Prevention: The First-Line Treatment for OCD
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) has proven to be one of the best treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder. ERP involves voluntary, repeated exposure to your obsessions and anxiety they provoke without engaging in compulsions to neutralize them.
At Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, we provide specialized anxiety treatment in Orlando, combining ERP and EMDR to help clients process any traumatic events that happened before they developed OCD symptoms.
Prolonged Exposure: A Trauma Therapist Explains How Exposure Therapy Is Used to Treat PTSD
Trauma therapists sometimes use a specific type of CBT, called prolonged exposure, to help clients learn how to gradually revisit memories and feelings associated with trauma so that they don't trigger PTSD symptoms anymore.
Most people want to avoid anything that reminds them of the trauma they experienced, but doing so reinforces their fear. By facing what you have been avoiding, you learn that the trauma-related memories are not dangerous and that you don’t need to avoid them. This can decrease your PTSD symptoms.
Can Exposure Therapy Make PTSD Worse?
For most people, exposing themselves to reminders of trauma is highly anxiety-provoking. That's why it is crucial to work with a trauma-trained therapist who can ensure this happens in a safe and controlled environment.
Exposure Therapy vs. Systematic Desensitization
In exposure therapy, the focus is on directly facing what you're afraid of until your brain learns that the feared situation isn't actually dangerous, and your anxiety naturally decreases. Systematic desensitization also employs gradual exposure, but it pairs each step with relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or muscle relaxation, allowing you to practice staying calm while confronting your fears.
When is Exposure Therapy Not Recommended?
Clients often ask, "Can exposure therapy make anxiety worse?" or "Can it be used to treat trauma?" Exposure therapy has been proven effective for many anxiety disorders. However, it may not be suitable for everyone, and it's important to discuss your situation with a therapist. For instance, you may not benefit from exposure therapy if you are not willing to fully engage and confront your fears. Or, perhaps you are already in significant emotional distress. In cases of emotional fragility, when someone feels too overwhelmed or vulnerable, exposure therapy may actually heighten distress rather than reduce it. Your therapist will complete an assessment to determine if exposure therapy is suitable for you.
Ready to Tackle Anxiety with Anxiety Treatment in Orlando?
If you are ready to confront your fears so that you can fully show up to your life now, reach out to us. We are here to walk with you on your healing journey.
Fill out our New Client Consultation form here.
Once you complete the form, you'll be invited to schedule a 15-minute phone consultation with one of our anxiety therapists.
Get ready to start your healing journey!
Anxiety Therapist Additional Resources
Orlando Therapist: Understanding Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Orlando Therapist: Understanding Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Decision-Making Anxiety? Anxiety Therapist Shares 5 Steps to Make Decisions Easier
Anxiety Therapy Explains High-Functioning Anxiety
An Anxiety Therapist Shares Everything You Need to Know about Anxiety
Other Therapy Services Offered at Mindful Living Counseling in Orlando
Did you know we offer a variety of therapy services to address diverse needs? Our therapeutic options include EMDR therapy, Trauma therapy, Teen therapy, Eating disorder Therapy, and Toxic relationship therapy. Additionally, we provide guided meditations for our clients.
Anxiety Therapist Lauran Hahn
Lauran Hahn is an Orlando Anxiety Therapist who specializes in helping clients deal with anxiety and trauma. She is a Certified Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, a Certified EMDR Therapist, and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant. Lauran’s goal is to help individuals feel calm in their bodies, at peace in their minds, and connected in their relationships. Lauran is currently offering EMDR Intensives. Lauran is currently seeing clients for EMDR Intensives.