A Therapist Can't Say That Ep 10 - Leave No Stone Unturned: The Healing Opportunity of Exposure Therapy with Allison Aosved
Trauma has become a huge buzzword over the past several years. In fact, I would say that trauma is having a moment.
And because trauma is having a moment, there is a glut of people out there who are chomping at the bit to tell you what the best kind of treatment for your trauma is and what you should be looking for in a trauma therapist. And this has become a prime opportunity for people to sell their own theoretical orientation or opinion on trauma therapy, not as if it's an opinion or a theoretical viewpoint, but as if it's simply a statement of fact about trauma treatment in general.
That theoretical difference being the schism between trauma therapists who believe that exposure, meaning a direct confrontation with the content of a traumatic memory, is a crucial part of trauma treatment and those who believe that it's not only not necessary, but that it is dangerous or potentially harmful.
There is a shift towards the viewpoint that exposure is harmful in the context of trauma, when in fact it can be, and very often is, a powerful and life changing intervention and the backbone of the work that many of us do in treating trauma.
And I'm concerned that clients may be being dissuaded from accessing kinds of treatment that could make a massive positive difference in their lives.
Today, I'm talking with Allison Aosved, a clinical psychologist who specializes in prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD and does a lot of supervision and training in that modality.
I wanted to talk with her about the importance of trauma exposure and some of the factors that may be contributing to increasing anti-exposure bias in this field.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
- How the research on exposure therapy is affirming it as an effective treatment for PTSD and a range of other disorders
- How the fear of exposure therapy causing destabilization or retraumatization for clients isn’t borne out in the research
- Why the isolation of private practice can make therapists risk-averse in their treatment
- Why distress and discomfort shouldn’t be confused with danger
- How exposure helps uproot shame around traumatic experiences
- The role of informed consent in exposure therapy
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