Prolonged Exposure Therapy 

Do you have trouble coping with the aftermath of trauma? If so, you benefit from Prolonged Exposure Therapy.  

Have you experienced traumatic event(s) in relation to:  

  • Community Violence 

  • Sexual Violence 

  • Witnessing the death of a loved one 

  • Any event that left you fearing for your death or potential harm 

Do you suspect you may have PTSD or symptoms of the like?  

  • Intrusive thoughts related to the event 

  • Nightmares/ Flashbacks 

  • Avoiding certain situations that remind you of the trauma 

  • Having negative beliefs about yourself, others, and the world 

  • Feeling “on-edge” most of the time 

What is Prolonged Exposure Therapy?  

Prolonged Exposure therapy is a highly efficacious treatment for those who struggle with PTSD and related depression, anxiety, and anger. It is an evidenced base mode of therapy with more than 20 years of research behind it. What makes it accessible is that it can be flexible and adapted to the person’s needs. Prolonged Exposure therapy has been shown to produce *clinically significant improvement* in about 80% of its patients with chronic PTSD.  

Typically, Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy consists of 90-minute sessions that can occur 1-2x per week for 15-20 sessions. Through PE therapy and the support of your therapist, you’ll learn to face what you’re avoiding. There are two key components to PE Therapy: In-vivo & Imaginal exposure:  

In-vivo Exposure 

In-vivo (in real life) exposure consists of the client creating a list of situations that they’ve been avoiding due to their past trauma. Your therapist will make sure that these situations are safe and will encourage you to face situations that you once believed are dangerous. You’ll also find yourself being able to enjoy leisure activities that you’ve once enjoyed before the trauma occurred.  

Imaginal Exposure 

A very normal reaction to trauma is wanting to push away memories related to trauma. However, you’ve probably noticed that no matter how hard you try to push the memory away, it always comes back through nightmares, flashbacks, and distressing thoughts/feelings. Imaginal exposure will look like you recounting your traumatic memory repeatedly to your therapist for about 40 minutes. This will continue on for several sessions until you and your body come to realize that your memory of the trauma is NOT the same as you reliving it. Imaginal exposure can provide an opportunity for you to gain insights about the event that happens and can show you how you’ve been able to overcome the trauma. Imaginal exposure can be very distressing to experience; however, revisiting the traumatic memory will help to you make sense of what you’ve experienced.  

Avoidance & the Benefits of Prolonged Exposure Therapy 

Avoidance is a common way those with PTSD try to cope with the aftermath of trauma. Avoidance can look like wanting to stay away from certain places that remind them of trauma, not going to crowded places, or just straight up isolation. It can also look like ignoring one’s negative emotions or pushing away any thoughts related to the trauma. While avoidance may have worked for the person in the short term by helping them survive, in the long-run, avoidance will contribute to anxiety/depression and essentially keep the PTSD “alive.” Prolonged Exposure therapy will encourage clients to face the very thing they are avoiding and take back their control. 

Benefits of completing in Prolonged Exposure Therapy are:  

  • Overall reduce distress  

  • Helps make sense of the trauma endured 

  • Realize that avoided situations are actually safe 

  • Learn about your ability to maintain self-control in stressful situations 

  • Understand that your anxiety in stressful situations do not last forever 

Seek Support in Overcoming your Trauma 

If you’d like support in managing your posttraumatic symptoms and want to take back control of your life, we encourage you to start Prolonged Exposure therapy with us! Your therapist will be with you every step of the way, and you’ll come out of it understanding more about what you’ve experienced and yourself as a trauma survivor. Book a free 15-minute consultation today to get started on your journey of healing from trauma.