Prolonged Exposure (PE)

← Trauma Therapy

Facing what you’ve been avoiding, safely

After trauma, it is natural to avoid the memories, conversations, places, and activities that bring up the pain. Avoidance brings short-term relief, but over time it keeps PTSD going and makes life smaller.

Prolonged Exposure therapy, developed by Dr. Edna Foa, is one of the most thoroughly researched treatments for PTSD. It helps you gradually approach what you have been avoiding, at a pace you and Missy agree on, so the memories and situations lose their power over you.

What PE involves

• Understanding your reactions: learning how trauma affects the brain and body, and why avoidance keeps symptoms going
• Calming skills: a simple breathing technique to help manage distress
• Revisiting the memory: talking through the trauma memory in session, in a safe and structured way, so it becomes less overwhelming
• Reclaiming your life: gradually returning to safe places and activities you have been avoiding
• Making meaning: processing what the trauma has come to mean about you and your life

PE is usually completed in about 8 to 15 sessions, with practice between sessions. It takes courage, and Missy will be alongside you every step of the way.

For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/prolonged_exposure.asp