Exposure Session Record

Exposure methods share the common feature of confrontation with frightening, yet realistically safe, stimuli.

(Rothbaum & Schwartz, 2002)

Exposure treatments are designed to reduce fear and anxiety by asking individuals to repeatedly face their fears, by either imagining or directly confronting them while remaining psychologically engaged (Magee, Erwin & Heimberg, 2009). Exposure aims to reduce the client’s fearful responses and reverse the patterns of avoidance that perpetuate the fear (Springer & Tolin, 2020). It is one the most effective interventions for overcoming fear (Kaczkurkin & Foa, 2022; Hofmann & Smits, 2008) and is the first-line treatment for some anxiety disorders (e.g., obsessive compulsive disorder: NICE, 2005). Exposure-based interventions have been incorporated into several therapies, most notably cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and can take several forms.

• In-vivo exposure: The client confronts their fear in real life. These fears may include objects, situations, bodily sensations (‘interoceptive exposure’), and thoughts.
• Imaginal exposure: The client

“We’ve talked about how exposure can help people overcome their fears and what it involves. I’m glad you’re willing to try it for yourself. Remember that exposure works best when it is graded, prolonged, repeated, and without distraction. Have you ever seen a bodybuilder strengthen a muscle? When they do a session in the gym they will work out a particular muscle group with many repetitions (reps) of an exercise. They’ll stop when the muscle is tired. Exposure is like working out a muscle – instead of a session in the gym you’ll do a session of facing your feared situation, and within that session you’ll do multiple reps until you habituate and your fear has reduced. Before we start your exposure, I’d like to show you an Exposure Session Record. We can use this tool to develop exposure exercises that will help you face your fears and monitor what

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• Springer, K. S., &