Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Adolescents (PE-A)
A therapeutic treatment for taumatized adolescents, age 12-18, where clients are encouraged to repeatedly approach situations or activities they are avoiding because they remind them of their trauma (in vivo exposure), as well as to revisit the traumatic memory several times through retelling it (imaginal exposure). Psychoeducation about common reactions to trauma as well as breathing retraining exercises are also included in the treatment. The aim of in vivo and imaginal exposure is to help clients emotionally process their traumatic memories through imaginal and in vivo exposure. Through these procedures, they learn that they can safely remember the trauma and experience trauma reminders, that the distress that initially results from confrontations with these reminders decreases over time, and that they are capable of tolerating this distress.
Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety
University of Pennsylvania
E-mail: sandraca@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Phone: (215) 746-5705 or (215) 746-3311
