Skip to content

We’re holding our first on-site workshop in over 5 years! Learn more about CBT for Complex Cases and join us in Philadelphia this September.

  • Donate Now
  • Seeking Treatment?
  • Cart
  • Account
  • Cart
  • Account
Beck Institute
  • CBT & CT-R Training
    • Training for Organizations
    • Training for Professionals
    • Center for CT-R
    • Full Training Catalog
    • Supervision
    • Consultation
    • On-Demand Training
    • Discounts, Financial Aid, and Scholarships
    • Continuing Education
  • Certification
    • Beck Institute CBT Certified Clinician (BICBT-CC)
    • Beck Institute CBT Certified Master Clinician (BICBT-CMC)
    • Beck Institute CBT Certified Supervisor (BICBT-CS)
    • Work Sample
  • CBT & CT-R Resources
    • Beck Institute Newsletter
    • CBT Insights Blog
    • Resources for Professionals and Students
    • Resources for Non-Professionals
    • International Resources
    • Emergency Response Resources
    • FAQs
  • About Us
    • History of Beck Institute
    • Understanding CBT
    • Our Team
    • Dr. Aaron T. Beck
    • Dr. Judith S. Beck
    • Employment Opportunities
    • The Beck Institute Clinic
    • Press Room
  • Therapy & Coaching Services
    • Beck Institute Clinic
    • Beck Institute Weight Management
  • My Account
    • My Certification
    • My Training
  • CBT & CT-R Training
    • Training for Organizations
    • Training for Professionals
    • Center for CT-R
    • Full Training Catalog
    • Supervision
    • Consultation
    • On-Demand Training
    • Discounts, Financial Aid, and Scholarships
    • Continuing Education
    • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
    • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
  • Certification
    • Beck Institute CBT Certified Clinician (BICBT-CC)
    • Beck Institute CBT Certified Master Clinician (BICBT-CMC)
    • Beck Institute CBT Certified Supervisor (BICBT-CS)
    • Work Sample
    • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
    • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
  • CBT & CT-R Resources
    • Beck Institute Newsletter
    • CBT Insights Blog
    • Resources for Professionals and Students
    • Resources for Non-Professionals
    • International Resources
    • Emergency Response Resources
    • FAQs
    • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
    • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
  • About Us
    • History of Beck Institute
    • Understanding CBT
    • Our Team
    • Dr. Aaron T. Beck
    • Dr. Judith S. Beck
    • Employment Opportunities
    • The Beck Institute Clinic
    • Press Room
    • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
    • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
  • Therapy & Coaching Services
    • Beck Institute Clinic
    • Beck Institute Weight Management
    • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
    • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
  • My Account
    • My Certification
    • My Training
    • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
    • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
  • Donate Now Seeking Treatment?
  • fab fa-facebook fab fa-linkedin-in fab fa-x-twitter fab fa-youtube
Home CBT Insights Why Use Exposure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
  • All Conditions

Why Use Exposure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

June 8, 2021 / by Hallie Grossman
Categories: All Conditions PTSD Success Stories

Browse by Topic


  • Everything
  • Aaron T. Beck
  • ADHD
  • All Conditions
  • Anger
  • Anorexia
  • Anxiety and Panic Disorders
  • Beck Announcements
  • Beck in the News
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Bulimia
  • CBT Certification
  • CBT Training
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Chronic Pain
  • CT-R
  • Depression
  • Digestive Issues
  • Emotional Disorders
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Impact of CBT
  • Insomnia
  • Judith S. Beck
  • Migraines
  • Newsroom
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Other
  • Panic Disorder
  • Personality Disorders
  • Practitioner Tips
  • PTSD
  • Relationship Problems
  • Schizophrenia
  • Sexual Dysfunctions
  • Social Phobia
  • Substance Use Disorders
  • Success Stories
  • Suicide
  • Training for Organizations
  • Weight Management

Why Use Exposure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

By Aaron Brinen, PsyD

Aaron-Brinen

As practitioners, we care deeply for the individuals we serve. Working with them following a traumatic event often activates our desire to protect and care for our clients, particularly when a survivor presents with the disruptive symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Some practitioners, though, become overly focused on the desire to prevent any hurt or distress.  Their treatment strategies revolve around helping clients avoid and eliminate distress, and making sure clients don’t get triggered.  They often have automatic thoughts such as:

  • “I need to prevent distress at any cost.”
  • “This trauma was so terrible; I can’t let my client get upset.”

In their minds, exposure techniques betray their dedication to do no harm.

Although this reaction is understandable, exposure approaches are consistently found to be one of the most effective treatments for PTSD.  Individuals tolerate and benefit from the treatment enormously.  They do not drop out from exposure more than any other treatment approach (Hembree et al, 2003), exacerbation of symptoms in response to exposure is rare (Foa et al, 2002), and the treatment is effective even with comorbidities such as dissociation, borderline personality disorder, psychosis, self-injury, substance use disorders, and major depression (Van Minnen et al, 2012). In addition to being tolerable and effective, exposure techniques provide powerful learning opportunities to correct clients’ unhelpful and inaccurate beliefs.  According to Jonathan Abramowitz, Ph.D., a leading researcher in anxiety disorders, “Exposure is the best cognitive intervention.”

At the heart of treatment, exposure targets the avoidance of the memory of the trauma and avoidance of the reminders of the trauma (Foa, Hembree & Rothbaum, 2007).  Exposure is a supportive and collaborative system of techniques that helps an individual face upsetting memories or reminders. These experiences enable the individual to assess his or her personal capability on a visceral level.  As treatment progresses, previously avoided information about the trauma becomes available because the individual is no longer excessively distressed by the memory.  This information is then used to correct beliefs that lead to guilt, shame, anger, grief, disgust, and other aversive states.

Considering the broad impact of exposure as a vehicle for cognitive change, the desire to avoid exposure as a treatment strategy (along with a CBT conceptualization and additional treatment strategies) seems driven by instinct rather than research.  Exposure is an efficient and potent strategy for enacting cognitive and behavioral change for the individual and can lead to long-term recovery from PTSD.

Upcoming Workshop

CBT for PTSD

July 9-11

Learn More
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
The Future of Community Mental Health for Persons with Severe Mental Illness
NEXT ARTICLE
The Relationship Vision
Sign Up for
Our Newsletter

View a sample newsletter



Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy
One Belmont Avenue, Suite 503 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004-1610 +1 (610) 664-3020 help@beckinstitute.org Contact Us
© 2025 Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Refund and Cancellation Policy
  • Permission to Use Beck Institute Materials
  • Sitemap
  • fab fa-facebook
  • fab fa-linkedin-in
  • fab fa-x-twitter
  • fab fa-youtube
Beck Institute Cares