Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Processing your trauma and then coping with the long-term symptoms of trauma-related conditions takes a lot of focused work. Prolonged exposure (PE) therapy is one of the cornerstones of trauma therapy plans at Rogers Behavioral Health.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Trauma Survivors

If you have experienced trauma, it’s natural for your brain and body to try and move past the traumatic experience without processing it. Unfortunately, without emotionally processing the traumatic event, it’s common to avoid situations, objects, places, and people that are associated with the experience. Prolonged exposure therapy can help you start realizing that you can reconnect with these things without anything bad happening.

PE therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Through CBT, patients learn to identify thoughts and unhelpful behaviors so they can develop more constructive healing patterns.

Therapy Can Help You Heal

The Rogers team may utilize prolonged exposure therapy for you during residential or outpatient programming. Therapists work directly with you to identify the things that associate with your traumatic experiences. Then, they work through sessions that involve:

Psychoeducation – Therapists provide education on the effects of trauma and how PE therapy can help you work through your symptoms.
Imaginal exposure – During these sessions, you are asked to recount the traumatic event in detail while imagining it. This allows you to gradually confront difficult memories and emotions.
In vivo exposure – You confront real-life situations that you have been avoiding due to the trauma.
Emotional processing – During and after exposure sessions, therapists guide you through processing emotions and thoughts related to the traumatic experience.

Throughout the exposure sessions, therapists may also guide you through deep breathing exercises to help you remain calm and present during distressing moments.