What is exposure and response prevention (ERP)?

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Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a part of Rogers’ evidence-based therapeutic approach for OCD and anxiety. A component of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), ERP helps individuals confront feared situations, thoughts, images, and impulses.

“When we have a lot of anxiety or we’re fearful of a given situation, our tendency is to avoid that situation – if you’re afraid of spiders you’re going to do everything possible to not be anywhere near spiders,” explains Dr. Jeremy Kruger, psychiatrist at Rogers’ Seattle clinic. “So the exposure part of ERP is intentionally putting ourselves in situations where we will face the thing that’s causing us anxiety and try to face it head-on.”

A key element of the exposure in ERP is that Rogers’ trained clinical team will meet each patient where they are and help them through the waves of anxiety that accompany the treatment.

“It’s important to recognize that as the waves of anxiety come up, they do eventually come back down. The more that someone can learn to master those waves of anxiety and see the other side of it rather than avoiding or running away from those waves, the more likely it is that they’ll be able to handle those situations as they come up in the future,” says Dr. Kruger.

Treatment at Rogers
Rogers provides evidence-based care for mental health and addiction disorders throughout the country. To schedule a free screening, call 800-767-4411.