Direct therapeutic exposure
Direct therapeutic exposure (DTE) is a behavior therapy technique pioneered by Patrick A. Boudewyns, where stressors are vividly and safely confronted to help combat veterans, and patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, or phobias. Exposure therapy has supporting evidence with both simple and complex traumas. A similar therapy is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). First known publication in book form is Flooding and Implosive Therapy: Direct Therapeutic Exposure in Clinical Practice by Patrick A. Boudewyns, Robert H. Shipley. 1983. ISBN 0-306-41155-5.
It is not uncommon to combine DTE treatment with other therapies.
Use
Direct exposure has been used with a variety of populations including agoraphobia and chronic PTSD It involves as the name applies placing the client either real or imaginally in the feared situation.
See also
Other techniques for treating PTSD:
- Cognitive behavior therapy
- Emotionally focused therapy
- Expressive therapy
- Family therapy
- Outward Bound
- Prolonged exposure therapy
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Further reading
- Boudewyns, P.A. & Hyer, L. (1990). "Physiological Response to Combat Memories and Preliminary Treatment Outcome in Vietnam Veteran PTSD patients treated with Direct Therapeutic Exposure." Behavior Therapy, 21, 63–87.