prolonged exposure therapy (pe)

Prolonged Exposure Therapy is a form of treatment used to address symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. One of the primary symptoms of trauma is avoidance. Individuals may find themselves avoiding people, places and sensations that remind them of hurtful past events.

Avoidance seems like an understandable reaction to hurtful memories and triggers, but we know through extensive research that avoidance actually breeds greater fear and anxiety over time. In severe cases, social anxiety may grow to the extent where individuals no longer wish to enter into public or engage in activities that previously brought them a sense of joy and meaning.

PE consists of two primary treatment procedures, imaginal exposure and in vivo exposures. Imaginal exposure is when the client retells the events of the traumatic event in a detailed way. This retelling enables the brain to become de-sensitized to the story as well as sort through the thoughts, emotions, sensations and behaviors that were present during the event.

In vivo exposure involves activities in which the client is exposed to specific triggers while simultaneously being coached to practice learned coping skills to better manage their stress reaction. In vivo exposure begins with the least distressing triggers and moves up over time to desensitize the client’s reaction to more distressing triggers.

In trauma treatment we have a saying, “The only way out is through.” Prolonged Exposure assists the individual in walking through painful events and practicing skills for minimizing distress in an effort to help them through to the other side of recovery.