Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) for PTSD
Coping with the long term symptoms of trauma can be difficult to face alone. Wise Mind Counseling provides PE for adults coping with anxiety in Green Bay, Door County, and throughout Wisconsin via telehealth. I also have specialized training in DBT-PE, an adaptation of Prolonged Exposure that integrates DBT skills with trauma-focused treatment.
How PE Can Help
For anyone who has experienced trauma, it is common to avoid painful reminders associated with the experience. This may feel helpful in the short term, but avoidance can interfere with your quality of life over time. Unfortunately, avoiding trauma reminders can contribute to the development and maintenance of PTSD.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy can help you gradually approach the things you have been avoiding and learn that you can cope with the discomfort, even when it feels difficult. The goal is to help you reclaim your life from PTSD and move toward what matters to you.
How Prolonged Exposure Works
There are three main components of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) that help you change the patterns that keep PTSD going.
- In-vivo exposure: You gradually confront real-life situations, places, activities, or emotions that you have been avoiding because of the trauma or its aftereffects. This helps reduce behavioral avoidance and gives you opportunities to learn that you can cope with discomfort.
- Imaginal exposure: You retell the traumatic event in detail while imagining it in your mind. This helps you approach and process the difficult memory rather than continuing to avoid it. Over time, the memory can become more organized and less distressing.
- Emotional processing: You work with your therapist to process the thoughts, emotions, and beliefs connected to the trauma. This can help you develop more balanced and helpful ways of understanding what happened and its impact on you.
Throughout PE, you will learn additional skills to support you during treatment. DBT skills can help you tolerate the distress that may come with approaching and processing trauma. You will also learn ways to increase mindfulness and self-compassion.
DBT-PE is a specialized adaptation of Prolonged Exposure Therapy that integrates the skills and principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It was developed for people with PTSD who also experience significant emotional or behavioral difficulties, including suicidal behaviors. Wise Mind Counseling specializes in DBT-PE to support you in trauma treatment while helping you manage difficult emotions.
Common Questions About Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Can prolonged exposure therapy make PTSD worse?: It is understandable to wonder if your symptoms will worsen when you begin approaching traumatic reminders. Research shows that PE is one of the most effective evidence-based treatments for reducing PTSD symptoms. While facing trauma reminders can temporarily increase distress, this short-term discomfort is a normal part of the treatment process and can help you learn that you can tolerate difficult emotions without avoiding them.
How effective is prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD?: Research has consistently proven that PE is the most effective treatment for PTSD. PE works by reducing the cognitive and behavioral avoidance that maintains the cycle of PTSD and helping you develop new learning that can change unhelpful beliefs and responses that developed as a result of trauma.
How long is PE: It commonly takes about 16–20 sessions when treating a single traumatic event. When you have experienced multiple traumas, treatment may take longer as you work through additional traumatic experiences. Research suggests that treating up to three traumatic events can lead to broader reductions in PTSD symptoms.
Trauma Therapist in Green Bay
Green Bay Location:
321 Saint George Street
Green Bay, WI, 54302
Door County Location:
217 N 4th Avenue
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235