Prolonged Exposure

What is PE?

Prolonged Exposure is based on the idea that trauma memories stay painful because we avoid them. While avoidance keeps you safe in the short term, it keeps the fear alive in the long term. PE is a behavioral therapy that teaches you how to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and situations. By facing these fears in a safe, controlled way, your brain finally learns that the memory is not the same as the event—and that you are safe now.

How Does it Work at mind360?

PE is an active, "hands-on" therapy that uses two primary types of exposure:

• •Imaginal Exposure: In session, you will describe your trauma memory in the present tense. This "emotional processing" allows the brain to finally digest the event and file it away in the past.
• •In-Vivo Mastery: We help you create a "bravery ladder" to safely and gradually approach real-life triggers—like crowded places or specific smells—that you have been avoiding.
• •Breathing Retraining: We provide you with physiological tools to manage your body's "alarm system" while you do the work.

Who Can Benefit?

PE is considered the "gold standard" for:

• •Chronic PTSD: For those whose lives have become very "small" due to avoidance.
• •Accident Recovery: Helping you get back behind the wheel or return to the site of an incident.
• •Natural Disasters: Overcoming the environmental triggers that cause flashbacks.
• •Repeated Trauma: For individuals who feel "haunted" by recurring memories.