What does the research say?
There has been some extensive research that supports the use of exposure therapy as a treatment for anxiety disorders, including phobias.
Some key findings include:
- Anxiety disorders in kids: A 2020 research review, showed that exposure therapy was used in 91 percent of successful anxiety disorder treatments in kids.
- Phobias: The review of 2020 research showed that in vivo exposure appears to be the most effective treatment for a wide variety of phobias. Some studies recorded that about 90 percent of participants responded positively to treatment.
- OCD: According to a 2019 research review exposure therapy is an effective treatment method for OCD. Exposure and response prevention is one of the first-line treatments for OCD in every part of the world. This involves exposing a person with OCD to their obsessive thoughts and having them resist acting on them. This should be done by a professional therapist.
- PTSD: According to a 2016 research review [5], exposure therapy is one of the most research-supported treatments for PTSD. This is also supported by the 2017 Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense and 2017 American Psychological Association guidelines. The use of prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for treating PTSD is highly recommended.
- Panic attacks: A small 2018 study that involved a group of eight people showed that a three-session therapist-guided exposure treatment was effective in treating panic attacks. Six members of the group experienced a reduction and four showed remission.
- Anxiety disorder in adults: According to a 2017 review of studies, there were signs of reduction of anxiety in older adults after they went through exposure therapy as a treatment method.
- Social anxiety: In a small 2019 study that involved a group of six participants who stutter, significant improvement was discovered in their social anxiety. The improvements were mostly maintained after 6 months.