You’ve tried managing anxiety on your own, and it keeps winning. Exposure therapy changes that dynamic completely.
Instead of avoiding the situations that trigger your anxiety, you’ll learn to face them systematically with expert guidance. This isn’t about forcing yourself into uncomfortable situations—it’s about building genuine confidence through controlled, gradual exposure that rewires how your brain responds to fear.
The result? You stop organizing your entire life around what makes you anxious. You go places you’ve avoided, do things you’ve put off, and reclaim the freedom that anxiety has stolen from you.
The Anxiety and OCD Institute brings world-class expertise directly to Longview, TX residents through both virtual and in-person care. Our team includes nationally known researchers, published clinicians, and advocates—many with lived experience of the conditions we treat.
This isn’t your typical therapy practice. Our clinicians have shaped international OCD treatment guidelines and written foundational books in the field. We understand that East Texas families need specialized care without traveling hours to major cities.
Every treatment plan combines clinical authority with deep empathy, meeting you exactly where you are emotionally and geographically while maintaining complete transparency about the process, fees, and what to expect.
Exposure therapy starts with a comprehensive assessment to understand your specific triggers, avoidance patterns, and treatment goals. No two people experience anxiety the same way, so your treatment plan reflects your unique situation.
You’ll work with your therapist to create a hierarchy of feared situations, starting with less challenging exposures and gradually building toward more difficult ones. This might include virtual reality technology for social anxiety or PTSD, allowing you to practice in controlled environments before real-world application.
Each session builds on the previous one, helping you develop distress tolerance and learn that the catastrophic outcomes you fear rarely happen. The process is collaborative—you’re never forced into situations you’re not ready to handle, but your anxiety will be consistently challenged in therapeutic ways.
Ready to get started?
The Anxiety and OCD Institute offers specialized exposure therapy for children, adolescents, and adults throughout Longview, TX and the broader East Texas region. We provide treatment for OCD, social anxiety, specific phobias, PTSD, and related conditions using evidence-based approaches.
Longview residents benefit from innovative treatment options including virtual reality exposure therapy, which is particularly effective for social anxiety and PTSD. This technology allows you to practice challenging situations—like public speaking or social interactions—in a safe, controlled environment before applying skills in real life.
We also offer intensive four-day treatment options for those needing more concentrated care, along with ongoing telehealth services that eliminate travel barriers common in rural East Texas. Every treatment approach maintains the highest standards of evidence-based care while remaining accessible to local families.
Exposure therapy directly targets the avoidance behaviors that maintain anxiety, while traditional talk therapy focuses primarily on understanding and discussing feelings. Research consistently shows that exposure-based treatments produce faster, more lasting results for anxiety disorders and OCD.
In exposure therapy, you actually practice facing feared situations in a controlled, gradual way rather than just talking about them. This hands-on approach retrains your brain’s fear response and builds real-world confidence that transfers to daily life.
The difference is measurable—most people see significant improvement within 12-20 sessions of exposure therapy, compared to months or years of traditional counseling with limited practical change.
Virtual reality exposure therapy creates realistic social situations where you can practice interactions without real-world consequences. You might practice giving presentations, joining conversations, or handling social rejection in environments that feel authentic but remain completely safe.
The technology allows your therapist to control every aspect of the experience, gradually increasing difficulty as you build confidence. Studies show that people often prefer VR exposure to real-life practice initially, with only a 3% refusal rate compared to 27% for traditional in-person exposures.
What makes VR particularly effective is that your brain responds to virtual situations similarly to real ones, creating genuine learning that transfers to actual social interactions. Many clients report feeling more prepared and confident in real social situations after VR practice sessions.
Exposure therapy is not only safe for young people—it’s often more effective than adult treatment because children’s brains are more adaptable to new learning. The approach is modified to be age-appropriate, often incorporating play, games, and family involvement to make the process engaging rather than overwhelming.
For children and teens, exposure therapy typically involves parents as active participants, teaching families how to support brave behavior rather than inadvertently reinforcing avoidance. This creates lasting change that extends beyond therapy sessions into daily family life.
Research shows that early intervention with exposure therapy can prevent anxiety from becoming more entrenched and debilitating over time. The collaborative approach helps young people develop lifelong skills for managing anxiety rather than simply coping with it.
Most people begin noticing changes within the first few sessions, with significant improvement typically occurring between sessions 8-12. The recommended course is usually 17-20 sessions for OCD, though some people see substantial progress sooner while others may need additional support.
Unlike medication that can take months to show effects, exposure therapy often produces noticeable changes quickly because you’re actively practicing new behaviors. Each successful exposure builds confidence and momentum for the next challenge.
The timeline varies based on the severity of symptoms, how long avoidance patterns have been established, and individual factors like motivation and support systems. However, the changes tend to be more lasting than other treatments because you’ve actually practiced managing anxiety rather than just learning about it.
Exposure therapy is considered the gold standard treatment for OCD, specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and PTSD. It’s particularly effective for any condition where avoidance behaviors maintain or worsen symptoms over time.
The treatment works exceptionally well for contamination OCD, social fears, driving phobias after accidents, agoraphobia, and trauma-related avoidance. Virtual reality exposure therapy has shown strong results for PTSD, especially when traditional exposure methods aren’t practical or safe.
Research indicates that exposure therapy often outperforms medication alone and produces more lasting results. It’s also effective for children and adults, with modifications made for age and developmental stage while maintaining the core principles of gradual, systematic exposure to feared situations.
Yes, we provide comprehensive telehealth services throughout Texas, including Longview and the broader East Texas region. Many aspects of exposure therapy translate effectively to virtual sessions, particularly for social anxiety, OCD, and certain phobias.
Telehealth exposure therapy might involve practicing phone calls, video interactions, or using household items for OCD-related exposures. Your therapist can guide you through exposures in your own environment, which often makes the skills more immediately applicable to daily life.
For residents in rural East Texas, telehealth eliminates travel barriers while maintaining the same evidence-based treatment standards. We combine virtual sessions with innovative approaches like VR technology and intensive treatment options to ensure you receive specialized care regardless of geographic location.
Local Resources
Useful Links
Other Services we provide in Longview
