The DOI matches its Crossref record; 138 of the 138 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Efficacy of Exposure Therapy for Anxiety-Related Disorders and Its Underlying Mechanisms: The Case of OCD and PTSD
Open accessAbstract
In this review we describe the intricate interrelationship among basic research, conceptualization of psychopathology, treatment development, treatment outcome research, and treatment mechanism research and how the interactions among these areas of study further our knowledge about psychopathology and its treatment. In describing the work of Edna Foa and her colleagues in anxiety disorders, we demonstrate how emotional processing theory of anxiety-related disorders and their treatment using exposure therapy have generated hypotheses about the psychopathology of posttraumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder that have informed the development and refinement of specific treatment protocols for these disorders: prolonged exposure and exposure and response (ritual) prevention. Further, we have shown that the next step after the development of theoretically driven treatment protocols is to evaluate their efficacy. Once evidence for a treatment's efficacy has accumulated, studies of the mechanisms involved in the reduction of the targeted psychopathology are conducted, which in turn inform the theory and further refine the treatments. We conclude our review with a discussion of how the knowledge derived from Foa and colleagues' programmatic research together with knowledge emerging from basic research on extinction learning can inform future research on the psychopathology of anxiety disorders and their treatments.
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“Exposure therapy has strong empirical support as a treatment for anxiety and related disorders”
From Enhancing Inhibitory Learning: The Utility of Variability in Exposure (2019) · cites this paper as Foa & McLean, 2016
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“According to emotion processing theory, fear and other emotions are stored in memory structures that contain information about stimuli that elicit the emotional response, as well as the response itself.[7]”
From Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions (2019) · cites this paper as [7]
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Cites
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“The merit of exposure and response prevention (ERP) as a treatment for anxiety-related disorders is well documented and spans decades of research (e.g., Foa & McLean, 2016; Marshall, 1985; Wolpe, 1961).”
(2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.002.0007
Foa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.005.0002
Self-citationFoa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.005.0001
Self-citationTherapist Imaginal Exposure Recording Form
Foa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.005.0003
Self-citationFoa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.002.0004
Self-citationFoa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.002.0010
Self-citationFoa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.002.0005
Self-citationProlonged Exposure Treatment Session Checklists
Foa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., ROTHBAUM, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190926939.005.0004
Self-citationJessup, S. C., Armstrong, T., Jakes, K. S., Dalmaijer, E. S., & Olatunji, B. O. (2025) · Journal of Experimental Psychopathology · doi:10.1177/20438087251345874
Labrenz, F., Kalenbach, A., Elsenbruch, S., & Icenhour, A. (2025) · bioRxiv · doi:10.1101/2025.06.25.661529
“This may not only perpetuate fear 8,9 but also undermine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), particularly exposure-based interventions 7,10 – 12 that rely on the principles of extinction learning 3,13,14 .”
Overall, J. S. (2025) · Applied Psychology Research · doi:10.59400/apr3074
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İnözü, M., Kargı, B., Üzümcü, E., Eroğlu, E. Ö., Usta, E., Durmuş, D. C., Tulek, G., Tulek, C., Topcu, Y., & Yıldız, M. E. (2025) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.70128
Rauch, S. A. M., Rothbaum, B. O., Smith, E. R., & Foa, E. B. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190081928.005.0003
Self-citation(2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190081928.002.0008
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Rauch, S. A. M., Rothbaum, B. O., Smith, E. R., & Foa, E. B. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190081928.005.0001
Self-citationRauch, S. A. M., Rothbaum, B. O., Smith, E. R., & Foa, E. B. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190081928.005.0002
Self-citationRauch, S. A. M., Rothbaum, B. O., Smith, E. R., & Foa, E. B. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190081928.002.0005
Self-citationRauch, S. A. M., Rothbaum, B. O., Smith, E. R., & Foa, E. B. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780190081928.002.0004
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Self-citationYartsev, E., John, O. P., & Ayduk, Ö. N. (2025) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672251348486
“…therapeutic technique for treating phobia that centers on the assumption that repeated exposure to fear stimuli of progressively increasing intensity leads to significant reductions in fear arousal and extinction of phobic behavior (e.g., see Foa & McLean, 2016, and Hofmann, 2008 for reviews).”
Perkins, J. D., & Meekings, S. (2025) · Epilepsy & Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.ebr.2025.100812
“An important aspect of PE is that it helps individuals make sense of fragmented, disorganized memories and reframe them within the context of their lives, fostering emotional processing and narrative coherence [17].”
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Flavian, G., Anholt, G. E., & Peled‐Avron, L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1603464
“This could also extend to interpersonal touch exposures in cases where patients avoid handshakes or hugs due to contamination fears (74, 75).”
Chtibi, M., & DEMİR, Ö. Ö. (2025) · Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry · doi:10.18863/pgy.1618945
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“For example, such a change might occur through specific interventions directed at behavior change, such as behavioral activation (Ekers et al., 2014) or exposure techniques (Foa & McLean, 2016), or through specific components of psychotherapy such as therapeutic relationships (Wampold & Imel, 2015).”
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“For example, exposure therapy relies on the activation of fear-related states ( Foa & McLean, 2016), and imagery rescripting involves reactivating traumatic memories ( Arntz, 2012).”
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张, 菲. (2026) · Advances in Psychology · doi:10.12677/ap.2026.161010
Richter, J., Hamm, A., Lang, T., Gerlach, A. L., Melzig, C. A., Helms, A., Droste, K. L., Goerigk, S., Straube, B., Kircher, T., et al. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104946
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Jaipuriyar, V., Behari, K., Rashkovsky, K. T., Girard, R., Sherman, A. L., Chasten, N. T., Epshteyn, G., Lee, J., Helminen, E. C., & Scheer, J. R. (2026) · Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications · doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2026.101666
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“However, as the present study focused on responses to fear, it is important to note that implicit emotion regulation goals and processes do also play a role in common therapies for anxiety and trauma disorders (i.e., exposure therapy; Craske et al., 2012; Foa and McLean, 2016).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Foa, E. B., & McLean, C. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2016-03-28
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-28
- ISSN
- 1548-5943 (ISSN-L)
- 1548-5951
- OpenAlex
- W1923241527
- Cited by
- 360
- References
- 134
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 9
- FWCI
- 1.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Annual Review of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Pennsylvania
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- exposure therapy, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, prolonged exposure, exposure and response prevention, emotional processing theory, extinction learning, therapeutic mechanisms, treatment efficacy, psychopathology
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety Disorders, Humans, Implosive Therapy, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Treatment Outcome
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