Evidence-Based Therapy
Face what you have been avoiding — safely, gradually, and at your own pace. Exposure therapy is the most effective, research-backed treatment for anxiety, phobias, OCD, and PTSD.
WorkCover, NDIS or TAC approved? YOU PAY NOTHING.
If your claim has been approved, we bill your funder directly. Zero out-of-pocket cost — no gap, no upfront payment, nothing.
Exposure therapy is a structured, evidence-based psychological treatment that helps you gradually and safely face the situations, objects, sensations, thoughts, or memories you fear — until they lose their power over you. It is widely regarded as the gold-standard treatment for anxiety disorders, phobias, OCD, and PTSD.
Avoidance is what keeps fear alive. Each time we avoid something frightening we feel short-term relief, but we teach our brain that the fear was justified. Exposure therapy reverses this: by facing your fears in a planned, graded way, your brain learns that the feared outcome does not happen — or that you can cope with it. Psychologists call this extinction or inhibitory learning, and it is one of the most robust findings in clinical psychology.
Exposure is a core component of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and is strongly recommended by the Australian Psychological Society, NICE (UK), and the World Health Organization for anxiety and trauma-related disorders.
In vivo (facing real-life situations), imaginal (revisiting feared memories or images), interoceptive (safely bringing on feared physical sensations, used for panic), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) — the specialist form of exposure used for OCD.
Exposure therapy has decades of strong research evidence across a broad range of anxiety and trauma-related presentations:
Exposure therapy is collaborative, structured, and always paced to what you are ready for — you stay in control of every step. A typical course follows five stages:
Your psychologist maps out your fears and shows you how avoidance and safety behaviours keep them going — so the process makes sense before you begin.
Together you rank feared situations from least to most distressing, creating a step-by-step hierarchy to work through gradually.
You face each step in a planned, repeated way — starting low on the ladder and only moving up when you are ready. Anxiety rises, then reliably falls as your brain learns you are safe.
You gently drop the safety behaviours, reassurance-seeking, and compulsions that keep fear alive. This step is central to treating OCD.
Between sessions you practise in real life to lock in the learning, building lasting confidence that carries beyond the therapy room.
Many people notice meaningful change within a few sessions. A typical course runs 8 to 16 sessions — specific phobias often respond faster, while OCD and complex trauma may take longer. Your psychologist reviews progress with you throughout.
We believe cost should never be a barrier to quality mental health care. There are several ways to fund your sessions at The Talk Shop:
Medicare Mental Health Care Plan — up to 10 rebated sessions per calendar year with a GP referral. Bulk billing may be available.
WorkCover & TAC — no out-of-pocket cost with an approved claim; we bill your funder directly.
NDIS — supported for plan-managed and self-managed participants.
Private Health & self-funded — extras may apply; affordable rates from $50, no referral needed.
Not sure what you are eligible for? Call 1300 224 665 and our team will help you work out your options before your first session.
We offer exposure therapy in-person at all four Melbourne clinics and via secure Telehealth Australia-wide:
In the short term you will feel some anxiety — that is how the treatment works — but it is planned, paced, and never more than you agree to. Across sessions, anxiety reliably decreases and your confidence grows. Delivered by a trained psychologist, exposure therapy is safe and highly effective.
Yes. You and your psychologist build a step-by-step fear ladder and work up it at your pace. You are always in control of the next step — nothing happens without your agreement.
Many people improve within 8 to 16 sessions, though this varies with the condition and its severity. Specific phobias can respond in just a few sessions, while OCD and PTSD may take longer.
Yes. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the first-line, most effective psychological treatment for OCD, recommended internationally by leading clinical guidelines.
Yes. Many forms of exposure — including imaginal, interoceptive, and ERP — work well over secure video. Your psychologist will tailor the approach to suit online delivery where appropriate.
No referral is needed to book. A Mental Health Care Plan from your GP lets you access Medicare rebates for your sessions.
Craske, M. G., Treanor, M., Conway, C. C., Zbozinek, T., & Vervliet, B. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 10–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.04.006
Foa, E. B., & McLean, C. P. (2016). The efficacy of exposure therapy for anxiety-related disorders and its underlying mechanisms. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093533
Abramowitz, J. S. (2013). The practice of exposure therapy: Relevance of cognitive-behavioral theory and extinction theory. Behavior Therapy, 44(4), 548–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.03.003
Our Melbourne psychologists deliver exposure therapy with care, structure, and patience. Book online or call — no referral needed to start.
