Prolonged Exposure Therapy Paper

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is a type of behavioral psychotherapy that helps a client be active about their distress, such as the problems and difficulties that occur in everyday life. It is used when someone experiences a traumatic event in their life. A client must commit to being active about the approach. This therapy can relate to some other therapies, however this therapy does not want to change one’s thoughts or behaviors but rather have them be exposed to the distress. PE is will is a step by step therapy and is very technique orientated. According to Corey, behavior therapy refers to the application of diverse techniques and procedures that are rooted in various theories of learning”. (p.338.) The purpose of Prolonged Exposure

With educating the client, the client will understand the stress they are experiencing and how to deal with the stress. The client will be more educated about the symptoms that causes the distress. With being educated about the symptoms, it will help the client understand the treatment, and also the goals of the treatment to decide if this is the best therapy for them. With the help of education the client, the next step will be breathing; which will focus on their breathing when a stressful event occurs. When one is stressed their breathing technique is quite different from their normal breathing technique. It is important for a therapists to help the client maintain normal breathing habits/ techniques. “Psychoeducational and breathing retraining are offered in the first two sessions while the remainder of sessions focuses largely on in vivo and imaginal.” The goal for PE is to start with small to large distress and the first two sessions guide the client what will happen. In vivo exposure is exposure to real life situations. Imaginal exposure is exposure to traumatic memories. In vivo is when clients are exposed to the actual feared situations, rather than just imagining it. These exposures are often times difficult to be shown to the client

The client will be approached only in situations that are safe. Over the course of treatment, clients begin to differentiate between safe and unsafe settings and habituate

With the client having a more positive outlook on life, the exposure will decrease the levels of anxiety. Prolonged Exposure Therapy is becoming widely used during therapy sessions. It is especially popular when therapists are dealing with clients who have anxiety problems and panic disorders that individuals may face in their lifetime. A therapist shows clients that they do not have to completely change their behavior around, but once they become consciously aware of their negative behavior, it will be easier for them to eliminate or change the behavior by being exposed to a certain situation. Behavior can be hard to change and it can be very overwhelming, but accepting the behavior for what it is, can allow a client to move forward and progress. The purpose of it is to accept reality for what it is and work with what is in favor of the client. There is an abundance of different acceptance strategies. Clients must learn to acknowledge and realize what they do and do not have control over in their life. They shall be able to recognize their differences. Although this is a relatively new approach, it is just as successful as the other techniques that have been around for