Barriers to the use of exposure therapy by psychologists treating anxiety, obsessive-compuslive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder in an Australian sample.

BACGROUND: Exposure therapy is a core component of the evidence-based treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite this, many clinicians fail to use exposure therapy in clinical practice, with research highlighting a number of potential barriers. Those findings raise serious concerns regarding the effective dissemination and delivery of evidence-based treatments that in turn have a major impact on client care and cost-effectiveness of psychological interventions.

AIMS: The present study aims to examine barriers to the use of exposure therapy in the clinical practice of Australian psychologists treating anxiety, OCD and PTSD.

METHOD: One hundred registered psychologists, aged between 23 and 71 years and 84% female, participated in this study via online survey.

RESULTS: Results suggest that the most common barriers to the use of exposure therapy include lack of confidence, negative beliefs about exposure therapy, insufficient underpinning theoretical knowledge, client-specific barriers, and logistical limitations.

CONCLUSIONS: Future research may further examine those barriers and the components of additional training and supervision that can increase the uptake of exposure therapy, particularly in clinical areas where it is a gold standard of practice.