Targeting clinician concerns about exposure therapy: A pilot study comparing standard vs. enhanced training

• Clinicians received either standard or enhanced exposure therapy training.
• Clinician concerns about exposure and self-reported exposure delivery were assessed.
• Enhanced training yielded greater reductions in clinician concerns about exposure.
• Self-reported exposure delivery was superior among enhanced training clinicians.
• Reductions in concerns mediated the effect of training type on exposure delivery.

Owing to concerns about the safety and tolerability of exposure therapy, many clinicians deliver the treatment in an overly cautious manner, which may limit its effectiveness. Although didactic training in exposure reduces clinician concerns about the treatment to a moderate extent, improved training strategies are needed to minimize these concerns and improve exposure delivery. The present study compared the effectiveness of a standard (i.e., didactic) exposure therapy training model to an “enhanced” training paradigm encompassing strategies derived from social-cognitive theory on attitude change. Clinicians (N = 49) were assigned to one of the two training approaches. Relative to standard training, clinicians who received enhanced training showed: (a) significantly greater reductions in concerns about exposure from pre- to post-training, and (b) superior self-reported delivery of the treatment. Reduction in concerns during training mediated the effects of training condition on clinicians' self-reported exposure delivery. These findings underscore the importance of addressing clinician concerns about exposure therapy in training contexts.