Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Basic premise: repeated exposure to trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and situations can help reduce the power they have to cause distress
• Essence of therapy: Prolonged Exposure Therapy consists of imaginal exposures, which involve recounting the traumatic memory and processing the revisiting experience, as well as in vivo exposures in which the client repeatedly confronts trauma-related stimuli that were safe but previously avoided.
• Length: approx. 8-15 sessions

Meta-analyses and Systematic Reviews

• Prolonged exposure therapy: past, present, and future (Foa, 2011)
• Prolonged exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder review of evidence and dissemination (McClean & Foa, 2011)
• A meta-analytic review of prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder (Powers et al., 2010)

Clinical Trials

• Prolonged exposure therapy for combat- and terror-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized control comparison with treatment as usual (Nacasch et al., 2011)
• A randomized controlled trial of exposure therapy and cognitive restructuring for posttraumatic stress disorder (Bryant et al., 2008)
• A comparison of exposure therapy, stress inoculation training, and their combination for reducing posttraumatic stress disorder in female assault victims (Foa et al., 1999)
• Comparative efficacy, speed, and adverse effects of three PTSD treatments: Exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training (Talyor et al., 2003)
• Randomized trial of prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder with and without cognitive restructuring: outcome at academic and community clinics (Foa et al., 2005)
• A comparison of cognitive-processing therapy with prolonged exposure and a waiting condition for the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder in female rape victims (Resick et al., 2002)
• Concurrent naltrexone and prolonged exposure therapy for patients withcomorbid alcohol dependence and PTSD: A randomized clinical trial (Foa et al., 2013)
• Prolonged exposure vs supportive counseling for sexual abuse–related PTSD in adolescent girls: A randomized clinical trial (Foa et al., 2013)

Video Repository

• Edna Foa on emotional processing theory in an intensive workshop at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (2013)

• Edna Foa on the “Biting Dog” Model for structuring exposures in an intensive workshop at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (2013)

• Al Jazeera segment on PE for adolescents with sexual trauma

Smartphone Apps

• PE Coach, available for free on iTunes
• PTSD Coach, available for free on iTunes

Measures, Handouts and Worksheets

• Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI); Subscales for PTCI; Scoring Key for PTCI
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Teen Workbook (Chrestman, Gilboa-Schechtman, & Foa)

Training Materials and Workshops

• Description of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (Veterans Administration’s National Center for PTSD)
• Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety

Related Diagnosis

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

EST Status

N/A

2015 EST Status

Treatment pending re-evaluation

1998 EST Status

Strong