Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the anxiety source or its context (without the intention to cause any danger). Doing so is thought to help them overcome their anxiety or distress. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.

As of 2024, focus is particularly on exposure and response prevention (ERP or ExRP) therapy, in which exposure is continued and the resolution to refrain from the escape response is maintained at all times (not just during specific therapy sessions).

Exposure therapy is based on the principle of respondent conditioning often termed Pavlovian extinction. The exposure therapist identifies the cognitions, emotions and physiological arousal that accompany a fear-inducing stimulus and then tries to break the pattern of escape that maintains the fear. This is done by exposing the patient to fear-inducing stimuli.

This may be done:

There are several types of exposure procedures:

The various types of exposure may be used together or separately. Discussion continues on how best to carry out exposure therapy, including on whether safety behaviours should be discontinued.

In the exposure and response prevention (ERP or EX/RP) form of exposure therapy, the resolution to refrain from the escape response is to be maintained at all times (not just during specific practice sessions). Thus, not only does the subject experience habituation to the feared stimulus, but they also practice a fear-incompatible behavioral response to the stimulus. The distinctive feature is that individuals confront their fears and discontinue their escape response.

While this type of therapy typically causes some short-term anxiety, this facilitates long-term reduction in obsessive and compulsive symptoms.