Direct therapeutic exposure (DTE) is a
behavior therapy
Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or ...
technique pioneered by Patrick A. Boudewyns, where
stressor
A stressor is a chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or an event seen as causing stress to an organism. Psychologically speaking, a stressor can be events or environments that individuals might consider demandin ...
s are vividly and safely confronted to help combat
veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that h ...
s, and patients with
posttraumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats ...
(PTSD),
panic disorder
Panic disorder is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, short ...
, or
phobias.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the target patient to the anxiety source or its context without the intention to cause any danger (desensitization). Doing so is thou ...
has supporting evidence with both simple and complex traumas. A similar therapy is
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories such as post-traumatic stress d ...
(EMDR). First known publication in book form is ''Flooding and Implosive Therapy: Direct Therapeutic Exposure in Clinical Practice'' by Patrick A. Boudewyns, Robert H. Shipley. 1983. .
It is not uncommon to combine DTE treatment with other therapies.
Use
Direct exposure has been used with a variety of populations including agoraphobia and chronic PTSD
[Afsoon Eftekhari, Lisa R. Stines and Lori A. Zoellner (2005): Do You Need To Talk About It? Prolonged Exposure for the Treatment of Chronic PTSD. ''The Behavior Analyst Today, 7(1),'' 70- 8]
/ref> It involves as the name applies placing the client either real or imaginally in the feared situation.
See also
Other techniques for treating PTSD:
* Cognitive behavior therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
* Emotionally focused therapy
Emotionally focused therapy and emotion-focused therapy (EFT) are a family of related approaches to psychotherapy with individuals, couples, or families. EFT approaches include elements of experiential therapy (such as person-centered therapy and ...
* Expressive therapy
The expressive therapies are the use of the creative arts as a form of therapy, including the distinct disciplines expressive arts therapy and the creative arts therapies (art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, writin ...
* Family therapy
* Outward Bound
Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
* Prolonged exposure therapy Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is a form of behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. It is characterized by two main treatment procedures – imaginal and in vivo exposures. Imaginal expo ...
* Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy or psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a form of psychological therapy.
Its primary focus is to reveal the unconscious content of a client's psyche in an effort to alleviate psychic tension, which is inner conflict wi ...
References
Further reading
* Boudewyns, P.A. & Hyer, L. (1990). "Physiological Response to Combat Memories and Preliminary Treatment Outcome in Vietnam Veteran PTSD patients treated with Direct Therapeutic Exposure." ''Behavior Therapy'', 21, 63–87.
External links
A Review of Alternative Approaches to the Treatment of Post Traumatic Sequelae
Anxiety disorder treatment
Counseling
Traumatology
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