ACTION CONTROL IN TREATMENT OF ANXIETY DI SORDERS - WHAT MAKES EXPOSURE SO EFFECTIVE

Seen on the background of theories of action control, treatment of pho bias will be successful, if the patient succeeds to interup state orie nted cognitions and to pursue his or her intentions in an action orien ted manner. Exposure treatment seems more than other cognitive-behavio ral methods to be suited to stimulate action orientation in patients a nd therapists. That occurs not only in the course of confrontation but already during the phase of its preparation. These effects could be d emonstrated by analysing the patient-therapist-interaction of 48 treat ments of the Bochum anxiety therapy study.