Exposure therapy as an essential component

Exposure therapy is an essential component of evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) treatments for phobia, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. After viewing the videos and listening to the lecture series, what are your thoughts on Exposure therapy? When using Exposure therapy what are the pros? Cons? What about using Exposure therapy with children? Would there be a difference in use between adults and children? What about EMDR? Do you see the value in using it in therapy?

Snake Phobia Behavioral (Exposure) Therapy – YouTube

Remote EMDR Therapy Demonstration: April 4, 2020 – YouTube

Eye Movement May Be Able To Heal Our Traumas | Tricia Walsh | TEDxUCDavisSF – YouTube

Week 8 Student #1

The psychotherapy technique that resonates with me the most is the Existential-Humanistic therapy/ theory. I will be reviewing EHT and CBT in this discussion. As a nurse, I have always applied Watson’s theory of caring in my practice. The importance of the client/nurse relationship and the importance of those caring moments have always resonated with me. I believe that the existential-humanistic theory has many similarities to Watson’s theory. Watson’s theory suggests that the caring moment and the caring relationship between the patient and their provider is imperative to ensure the best possible outcomes (Pajnkihar, Štiglic, & Vrbnjak, 2017). Exposure therapy as an essential component

EHT

Existential humanistic therapy is a form of psychotherapy that may be utilized today. Existential humanistic therapy is a patient-centered therapy that allows the patient to lead and dictate how their session and treatment goes. The therapist follows the lead of the patient and tries not to guide to one direction or another but rather let the patient navigate and get to where they need to get on their own. Many aspects of EHT such as empathy, encouragement, and acceptance can be greatly beneficial for the initial interview and to help build the therapeutic relationship (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Exposure therapy as an essential component 1999).

EHT also focuses on the client’s therapeutic relationship with the therapist as well as focusing on the here and now (Wheeler, 2014). Self-actualization is another huge part of EHT. In EHT self-awareness and self-actualization allows the patient to reach their own goals by the route that they develop. “Whereas the keywords for humanistic therapy are acceptance and growth, the major themes of existential therapy are client responsibility and freedom” (Center for Substance Treatment, 1999, p. 106). Therefore, EHT incorporates both acceptance and growth as well as responsibility and freedom. Exposure therapy as an essential component

CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is another form of psychotherapy that can be utilized for those who are suffering from depression, anxiety, and other stressors or mental health problems. CBT is a psychotherapy that utilizes a learning approach that focuses on changing your thoughts and behaviors that will hopefully lead to positive changes in your life. Exposure therapy as an essential component

CBT is one of the most widely utilized forms of psychotherapy that has demonstrated effectiveness in both behavioral and emotional problems (Wheeler, 2014). CBT incorporates goals that are set with the client and therapist as well as utilizing homework assignments. Multiple studies have shown efficacy when utilizing CBT for depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, general stress, and many other conditions (Hoffman et al., Exposure therapy as an essential component 2012).

References Exposure therapy as an essential component

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of

mental disorders (5^th ed.). Washington, DC:

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (1999). Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for

Substance Abuse. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US).

Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The Efficacy of

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive therapy and

research, 36(5), 427–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-012-9476-1

Pajnkihar, M., Štiglic, G., & Vrbnjak, D. (2017). The concept of Watson’s carative factors in

nursing and their (dis)harmony with patient satisfaction. PeerJ, 5, e2940.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2940

Wheeler, K. (Ed.). (2014). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric

nurse: A how to guide for evidence- based practice (2^nd ed.). New York, NY:

Springer Publishing Company

Week 8 Student #2

Psychotherapy is a collaborative enterprise where patients and clinicians negotiate ways of working together that are mutually agreeable and likely to lead to positive outcomes. American Psychological Association [APA]Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, 2006). Psychotherapy is a method of working with patients and clients to assist them in modifying, changing, or reduce factors that interfere with practical living. Exposure therapy as an essential component

Psychotherapy provides corrective emotional experiences, allowing patients to behave in ways that they may have avoided in the past, to experience that feared consequences do not occur (Nagi, 2011). Existential and humanistic approaches to studying human behavior are often integrated into one, The Existential-Humanistic Approach, primarily because the two methods are phenomenological in their orientations. Humanistic and existential psychotherapies emphasize the understanding of the human experience and a focus on the client rather than the symptom.

Existential therapy can alleviate anxiety, shame, and guilt through honest self-evaluation (Winston, 2015). Existential-humanistic psychology doesn’t promise the answer to that question. Still, it can help clients, and other psychologists frame their questions about the broader issues at work behind depression, anxiety, and other causes of mental angst and dissatisfaction with life (Price, 2018). Humanistic and existential therapies strive to help you take responsibility for your actions by accepting your behavior and the consequences associated with your activities. Essentially, it means that you control how you react and behave, regardless of the outside influences that impact your life. (Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center, Exposure therapy as an essential component 2015).

The type of psychotherapy that I have chosen is cognitive-behavioral therapy, specifically exposure and response prevention (ERP). ERP is a specific form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that ERP is a component of cognitive-behavioral therapy that is commonly used to treat mental health conditions such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, eating disorders social anxiety (Rogers, Exposure therapy as an essential component 2020).

ERP works by gradual and repetitive exposure to the feared situation and avoiding the impulse to use a compulsive behavior. ERP has two significant components: exposure and response prevention. The exposure component of treatment involves a process in which a therapist guides a person through imagined or real situations exposed to anxiety triggers. Exposure therapy as an essential component

Triggers for anxiety might include specific thoughts, images, memories or could consist of actual feared objects or situations. The exposure process is gradual and progressive, starting with less anxiety-provoking exposures and gradually moving up towards exposures that trigger higher anxiety (Shafir, 2020). With this form of treatment, the client is habituating to the fear causing the pressure to reduce.

Strengths and Challenges

The strengths of existential-humanistic therapy are that it can help evaluate one’s own beliefs and values. It can help a person develop a more effective way of communication and acknowledge a person’s limitations. There is little guidance for the practitioner; it is difficult and complex to master the process. The strength of ERP is that ERP is helpful to clients that have not had a positive response to medications (Rogers, 2020). The challenges of ERP is that it can be costly and hard to find a provider. Some of the exposures may be very frightening to a client, causing clients to drop out. Exposure therapy as an essential component

Fictional Client

For ERP, I think one of the best fits for this type of treatment would be a client that suffers from an anxiety disorder. We can reduce the level of anxiety we feel by facing our fears and acting in ways that promote our well-being. As we do this, we create a better, happier, more fulfilling life for ourselves through our positive actions. Exposure therapy as an essential component

An example of how the ERP would work for this client will be if the client fears driving. Let’s say they fear that they ran over someone with every bump they go over while driving. The way the therapist would challenge this fear is by having the client drive down bumpy roads for longer intervals of time. Therapists can use existential-humanistic techniques to help people with a variety of mental health conditions. Exposure therapy as an essential component

These include depression, anxiety, addictions, and PTSD that arise from life-threatening experiences such as combat or other forms of violence. Also, if you have fear, isolation, grief, or feel that your life has no meaning, existential therapy is an effective method for helping you deal with your life issues (Thomas, 2020). A client that would benefit from existential-humanistic treatment would be a client that struggles with relationship difficulties or that has had trouble building a rapport with the therapist in the past. Exposure therapy as an essential component

References Exposure therapy as an essential component

American Psychological Association [APA]Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (2006). Evidence-based psychology practice. American Psychologist, 61(4), 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.61.4.271
Nagi, T. F. (2011). Ethics in Psychotherapy. Essential ethics for psychologists. A primer for understanding and mastering core issues (pp. 185 198). Washington, DC: American Association. Doi: 10. 1037/12345-010. Auth.Laureate.Net. https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=29d81fce-6610-458a-a882-7b9f93011fab%40sdc-v-
Price, M. (2018). Existential-humanistic psychologists hope to promote the idea that therapy can change not only minds but lives. Apa.Org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/11/meaning
Rogers Behavioral Health. (, 2020). What is ERP? Retrieved from https://rogersbh.org/why-choose-us/our/therapeutic…
Shafir, H. (2020). Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy: What It Is & How It Works. Choosing Therapy. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/exposure-and-respo…
Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center. (2015, August 14). Humanistic and Existential Therapy in Mental Health Treatment | Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center. Mental Health Center. http://www.mentalhealthcenter.org/the-role-of-huma…
Thomas, J. (2020). Existential Therapy: What It Is and How It Works | Betterhelp. Www.Betterhelp.Com. https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/existent…
Winston, C. N. (2015). Points of convergence and divergence between existential and humanistic psychology: A few observations. The Humanistic Psychologist, 43(1), 40–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/08873267.2014.993067

Exposure therapy as an essential component