Exposure and Response prevention is the current treatment method available from behavioral psychologists in the treatment of a variety of anxiety disorders. The treatment method is predicated on the idea that a therapeutic effect is achieved as anxiety disordered persons confront their fears and discontinue the escape response. An example would be for a person with a fear of snakes, (ophidophobic) to remain in a room with an actual snake and not leave the room until the experience of anxiety is reduced through a principle called habituation.

Please refer to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder article for elaboration on ERP and its effectiveness.