Exposure therapy is another CBT approach.
This method was designed for those whose fears are too dominant for them to handle alone since this imbalance causes paralysis.
The basic outline of this approach consists of incrementally increasing exposure to the things that trigger the fear.
Let's work with an example.
Someone is terrified of their father due to physical abuse in their childhood.
The therapist would encourage the client to start where the client can tolerate the level of fear without getting overwhelmed.
Keep in mind that this level of tolerance may only look like seeing a picture of him.
Slowly they work together until he can text his father, then being in the same room, then being at the same meal,
As time moves on and they become more comfortable he can become part of a family conversation, then to meet in a public area and then to enter with the therapist, and finally to be alone together.
By experiencing the fear and surviving it, the client's primitive mind learns that now it's safe and the learned association of father=fear, wanes.
Does this technique resonate with you? Lmk below.
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