Exposure therapy: what it is and how it can help

Avoiding the things that frighten us feels like relief, but it keeps fear alive and lets it spread. Exposure therapy is a proven psychological treatment that does the opposite: it helps people face feared objects, activities or situations in safe, gradual steps until the fear fades.

Exposure therapy has strong evidence for several anxiety-related conditions, including phobias, panic disorder, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In phobias, for example, someone terrified of dogs might begin by looking at photos, progress to watching a dog behind a fence, and eventually pat a calm animal - staying at each step until the anxiety naturally subsides.

The same principle applies elsewhere: touching feared objects and resisting the urge to wash in obsessive-compulsive disorder, revisiting traumatic memories with a therapist in PTSD, or deliberately entering feared bodily sensations in panic disorder.

Treatment is planned and collaborative - never a surprise. The therapist builds a ranked list of feared situations and works up it at the person's pace, often alongside breathing and coping skills.

Exposure therapy is demanding but highly effective, and gains tend to last. A GP or mental-health service can refer you to a psychologist trained in it.