Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a treatment method available from behavioral psychologists and cognitive-behavioral therapists for a variety of anxiety disorders, especially Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It is an example of an Exposure Therapy, with the addition of Response Prevention.
The method is predicated on the idea that a therapeutic effect is achieved as subjects confront their fears and discontinue their escape response. An example would be of a person who repeatedly checks light switches to make sure they're turned off. They would carry out a program of exposure to their feared stimulus (leaving lights switched on) while refusing to engage in any safety behaviors. It differs from Exposure Therapy for phobia in that the resolution to refrain from the avoidance response is to be maintained at all times and not just during specific practice sessions. Thus, not only does the subject experience habituation to the feared stimulus, they also practise a fear-incompatible behavioral response to the stimulus.
Recent results (Lovell et al, see below) indicate that ERP can be carried out effectively with minimal face-to-face contact between the therapist and the subject.
The results of a 2008 study indicate that simultaneous administration of d-cycloserine substantially improves effectiveness of exposure and response prevention.1
Please refer to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder article for elaboration on ERP and its effectiveness.
References
- ^ Wilhelm, Sabine; Ulrike Buhlmann, David F Tolin, Suzanne A Meunier, Godfrey D Pearlson, Hannah E Reese, Paul Cannistraro, Michael A Jenike, Scott L Rauch (2008-03). "Augmentation of behavior therapy with D-cycloserine for obsessive-compulsive disorder". The American Journal of Psychiatry 165 (3): 335-41. PMID 18245177.
Recommended Reading
- Stop Obsessing, by Foa Edna
- Marks I (1981) Cure and Care of Neuroses John Wiley & Sons Inc 0-471-08808-0
- Marks I. (1997) Behaviour therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a decade of progress. Can J Psychiatry. Dec;42(10):1021-7.
- Lovell K, Cox D, Haddock G, Jones C, Raines D, Garvey R, Roberts C, Hadley S. (2006) Telephone administered cognitive behaviour therapy for treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder: randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. BMJ. Oct 28;333(7574):883
 This psychology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 2 November 2008, at 13:42.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by PediaView.com. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with PediaView.com.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Exposure and response prevention".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.