An Acceptance-Based Behavioral Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety: A Case Paper

Acceptance-based behavioral therapies are effective at reducing anxiety. For clients with social anxiety disorder, these treatments may be particularly effective when they include an exposure component. An Acceptance-Based Behavioral Exposure Therapy (ABBET) for social anxiety disorder was adapted from Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapy (Roemer & Orsillo, 2009) by incorporating an explicit exposure focus. To further illustrate the ways that an exposure-framework can be incorporated into an acceptance-based behavioral therapy approach, this paper presents two case descriptions, with accompanying data, of the ways that mindfulness and acceptance practices can be incorporated with values-based exposure practices. Specifically, the case of Francia highlights the ways that a client can use the exposure practices to connect with and to live according to their values as a way to decrease distress, while the case of Mobo highlights how reducing experiential avoidance through mindfulness and decentering enhance engagement with exposure exercises.