Name
K05 - Increasing Access to Evidence-Based Anxiety Treatment through Integrated Primary Care: How to Integrate Elements of Exposure Therapy in Brief Treatment for Adults with Anxiety
Date & Time
Friday, October 17, 2025, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location Name
302B
Description

Anxiety disorders and subthreshold symptoms are prevalent in primary care patients. Exposure therapy is a gold standard treatment for anxiety, but clinicians rarely use it in integrated primary care (IPC) settings due to challenges in adapting it for feasible delivery in brief sessions. This session will cover how to incorporate elements of exposure techniques for anxiety in your IPC practice with adults, including tips for efficiently explaining the treatment rationale, securing patient buy-in, identifying personalized exposure targets, and setting “baby step” exposure goals within a 30-minute session. We will present qualitative feedback from frontline IPC providers who delivered brief exposure and share examples of exposure goals set by patients in IPC sessions in a recent clinical trial. Finally, we will facilitate a large-group discussion of barriers and facilitators to embracing the spirit of exposure and/or adhering to the “letter of the law” for exposure in IPC clinical practice.

Speakers
Robyn Shepardson PhD, Clinical Research Psychologist, Center for Integrated Healthcare (VISN 2), Durham, NC
Robyn Shepardson
Co-Authors
Emily M. Johnson, PhD, Clinical Research Psychologist, VA Center for Integrated Healthcare, Syracuse, NY
Julie C. Gass, PhD, Clinical Research Psychologist, VA Center for Integrated Healthcare, Buffalo, NY
Jennifer S. Funderburk, PhD, Clinical Research Psychologist, VA Center for Integrated Healthcare, Syracuse, NY
Content Level
Intermediate
Tags
Innovations, Primary Care Behavioral Health Model
Session Type
Concurrent
SIG or Committee
Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH)
Objective 1
Describe strategies for incorporating elements of exposure techniques in brief treatment in integrated primary care settings
Objective 2
List examples of brief exposure goals that patients with anxiety could feasibly work on in integrated primary care treatment
Objective 3
Describe barriers to and facilitators of using elements of exposure techniques for anxiety in integrated primary care settings
Content Reference 1

Shepardson, R. L., Fletcher, T. L., Funderburk, J. S., Weisberg, R. B., Beehler, G. P., & Maisto, S. A. (2023). Barriers to and facilitators of using evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral anxiety interventions in integrated primary care practice. Psychological Services, 20(4), 709-722.

Content Reference 2

Shepardson, R. L., Funderburk, J. S., Weisberg, R. B., & Maisto, S. A. (2023). Brief, modular, transdiagnostic, cognitive-behavioral intervention for anxiety in Veteran primary care: Development, provider feedback, and open trial. Psychological Services, 20(3), 622-635.

Content Reference 3

Farris, S. G., Kibbey, M. M., Derby, L., Keller, B., Hoyt, D., Brinkman, H. R., Alderman, B. L., & Leyro, T. M. (2025). Tailoring interoceptive exposure for patients with medical comorbidities. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2024.11.001

Content Reference 4

White, E., Wray, J. M., & Shepardson, R. L. (2020). Clinical considerations in designing brief exposure interventions for Primary Care Behavioral Health settings. Families, Systems, & Health, 38, 439-449.

Content Reference 5

Shepardson, R. L., Minnick, M. R., & Funderburk, J. S. (2020). Anxiety interventions delivered in Primary Care Behavioral Health routine clinical practice. Families, Systems, & Health, 38, 193-199.