02/10/2025
Exposure and Response Prevention. A specific and very helpful form of therapy. Visit us at our office in West Bloomfield or virtually. Exposure and response prevention is designed to gradually reduce the anxiety that feeds obsessions and compulsions. One way in which this is thought to happen is through a process called habituation, which people become less physiologically aroused by triggering stimuli or obsessions after being repeatedly and safely exposed to them.
Further, individuals with OCD, anxiety, phobias, or eating disorders learn over time that the stimuli, thoughts, and feelings that prompt compulsions are more bearable than they anticipated. They also realize that being exposed to their fears does not actually lead to the outcomes they dread. They come to recognize that they are capable of coping with the triggers without resorting to compulsive rituals.
Exposure and response prevention can help people manage anxiety-provoking or obsessive thoughts and behavior. It involves two steps:
Individuals are directly exposed to stimuli that generally evoke fear, distress, obsessive thoughts, or compulsive, ritualistic behavior (exposure component).
They learn therapeutic techniques to help prevent their usual maladaptive response; as a result, they get accustomed to experiencing a trigger but not giving in to the compulsion—this is the response-prevention component.
