Exposure Therapy and Its Mechanisms
Abstract
Exposure therapy is the gold-standard treatment approach for pathological anxiety. This therapeutic approach builds on principles of extinction training from traditional fear conditioning and extinction protocols. In this chapter, we discuss principles of exposure therapy in the clinic and the laboratory experimental results that guide our decisions in the therapy. We discuss emotional processing theory and inhibitory learning principles, with a focus on expectation violation. We conclude with future research directions needed to improve exposure therapy outcomes among patients with anxiety-related disorders.
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There is empirical evidence that exposure therapy, specifically in vivo exposure therapy, can be an effective treatment for generalized anxiety disorder and has greater effectiveness than imaginal exposure.
“Moreover, there is empirical evidence that exposure therapy can be an effective treatment for people with generalized anxiety disorder, citing specifically in vivo exposure therapy (exposure through a real-life situation [190]), which has greater effectiveness than imaginal exposure in regard to generalized anxiety disorder.”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [190]
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- Authors
- Hamlett, G. E., Foa, E. B., & Brown, L. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brown, Lily A.
- Venue
- Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Published
- 2023
- Volume
- 64
- Pages
- 273-288
- ISSN
- 1866-3370 (ISSN-L)
- 1866-3389
- OpenAlex
- W4385489989
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 32.33
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Current topics in behavioral neurosciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- exposure therapy, anxiety disorders, fear extinction, fear conditioning, extinction training, emotional processing theory, inhibitory learning, expectancy violation, therapeutic mechanisms
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Extinction, Psychological, Humans, Implosive Therapy, Learning
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