12.5% of U.S. Adults experience specific phobias at some point in their lives. With that being said Exposure Therapy is one of the most common ways to help people get over these phobias. Exposure therapy is a mental health treatment used to help people confront their fears. During the sessions of exposure therapy, you are slowly introduced to whatever it is your fear. Psychologist create a safe environment for you to be exposed to the things you fear and then they coach you through the process.
Even though Exposure therapy is widely known to help phobias there are multiple other conditions this therapy can help. Those being panic disorders, Social anxiety disorders, obsessive- compulsive disorders, and PTSD. With the different types of disorders exposure therapy treats there is also different versions of exposure therapy.
One of the first types of Exposure Therapy is In vivo exposure. This therapy involves confronting the feared object or situation. The next type of exposure therapy is is applied muscle tension, this treatment is very similar to In vivo exposure but it also involves muscle tension exercises. Virtual reality exposure uses computer programing to stimulate the phobic situation. This is three of many types of exposure therapy that help people live a better life.
Great post! I find it so fascinating how exposure therapy can reduce a person's phobias. This is extremely helpful for people whose phobias impact their daily lives negatively - I might even consider trying this myself as someone with generalized anxiety disorder.
ReplyDeleteI have always been intrigued by phobias and the methods to help people be able to overcome phobias. I can only imagine the pain and difficulty that people with the phobia go through to at the beginning when going through exposure therapy. Luckily like you mentioned in your post the different types of exposure therapy have helped people live better lives. Great Post :)
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