What is "exposure therapy"

n. a form of behavior therapy in which a survivor confronts feelings or phobias or anxieties about a traumatic event and relives it in the therapy situation

Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy used to treat anxiety disorders. It involves the exposure of the patient to the feared object or context without any danger, in order to overcome their anxiety. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction paradigm in rodent work. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety disorders such as PTSD and specific phobias.

Exposure-based therapy may be effective in preventing the progression from acute stress disorder to post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a report in the June 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

It is also very closely related to exposure and response prevention, a method widely used for the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder.