Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is a form of behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, characterized by two main treatment procedures, imaginal and in vivo exposure. Imaginal exposure is repeated, deliberate retelling of the trauma memory, while in vivo exposure is gradually confronting situations, places and things that are reminders of the trauma or feel dangerous despite being objectively safe; additional procedures include processing of the trauma memory and breathing retraining.