The Struggle of Behavioral Therapists With Exposure: Self-Reported Practicability, Negative Beliefs, and Therapist Distress About Exposure-Based Interventions.

The Struggle of Behavioral Therapists With Exposure: Self-Reported Practicability, Negative Beliefs, and Therapist Distress About Exposure-Based Interventions. Behav Ther. 2019 Mar;50(2):353-366 Authors: Pittig A, Kotter R, Hoyer J Abstract Exposure-based interventions are a core ingredient of evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, previous research has documented that exposure is rarely utilized in routine care, highlighting an ongoing lack of dissemination. The present study examined barriers for the dissemination of exposure from the perspective of behavioral psychotherapists working in outpatient routine care (N = 684). A postal survey assessed three categories of barriers: (a) practicability of exposure-based intervention in an outpatient private practice setting, (b) negative beliefs about exposure, and (c) therapist distress related to the use of exposure. In addition, self-reported competence to conduct exposure for different anxiety disorders, PTSD, and OCD was assessed. High rates of agreement were found for single barriers within each of the three categories (e.g., unpredictable time management, risk of uncompensated absence of the patient, risk of decompensation of the patient, superficial effectiveness, or exposure being very strenuous for the therapist). Separately, average agreement to each catego...
Source: Behavior Therapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Behav Ther Source Type: research