Final answer:
Therapists use exposure therapy to help people with phobic disorders confront their fears directly. It's based on the principle that facing the phobia in a safe environment can lead to habituation and overcoming the fear, and is part of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Therapists who use the technique of exposure therapy believe that people with phobic disorders must be forced to confront what they fear in its full intensity so they will see that no real danger exists. This form of therapy is based on the premise that avoidance of the feared object or situation maintains the fear, while exposure to it can result in extinction or habituation of the phobic response. Exposure therapy is a component of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which takes cognitive processes and behaviors into account when providing psychotherapy.
Therapists who practice exposure therapy guide patients to gradually face their fears in a controlled and safe environment. The process can be very intense, as the patient confronts the source of their phobia rather than avoiding it. This is significantly different from a reaction formation ego defense mechanism in which, according to Freudian theory, a person confronted with anxiety transforms unacceptable urges or behaviors into their opposites. In exposure therapy, there is a direct confrontation, not a transformation of the fear.
Research has shown that virtual reality exposure therapy can be particularly effective for phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. Modern virtual reality equipment allows the patient to enter a computer-generated world in which they can safely interact with their phobic stimulus. This approach has been supported by studies and therapies designed by Gerardi, Cukor, Difede, Rizzo, and Rothbaum, as it offers safe, controlled, and repeatable conditions for therapy.