Edna Foa

How is a fear structurally built in the mind?

Well, the foundational model for this is emotional processing theory, which was originally developed by Edna Foa and Michael Kozak.

Oh, and Kozak, right.

Yes.

Prolonged exposure therapy is a specific structure exposure treatment protocol primarily for PTSD.

So exposure therapy is a general therapeutic model while prolonged exposure is a manualized form of CBT developed by Dr. Edna Foa.

Exposure therapy primarily treats phobias, panic, social anxiety, OCD, PTSD, while prolonged primarily works with PTSD.

Exposure therapy reduces avoidance and creates new learning that fear cues can be tolerated safely.