The delivery of high-quality exposure therapy is critical to achieving optimal clinical outcomes for individuals with anxiety and related disorders. However, there remain significant challenges in supporting fidelity to core exposure therapy principles across diverse clinical settings and therapist experience levels. This working group will focus on two interconnected goals: (1) developing and evaluating strategies for monitoring and improving the quality of exposure therapy delivery (e.g., through therapist training, quality feedback systems), and (2) supporting the implementation of automated quality measurement tools that leverage advances in natural language processing (NLP). 

To support these goals, the group will contribute to the Automated Coding of Exposure (ACE) project, an NIMH-funded R01 that is using audio recordings from six clinical trials (~N = 1,286 patients; 11,213 sessions) to automate the assessment of exposure therapy quality using NLP. Study activities are grounded in feedback from two external advisory groups—a Development Advisory Panel and a Clinical Focus Group—with the aim of refining ACE methodology and maximizing its relevance to frontline clinical practice.This ETC working group will: (1) review and expand upon feedback from the external advisory groups, and (2) advise on the related development of an automated quality tool and supporting implementation strategies that can be adopted across a diverse range of clinical end users.

Join us: 

We welcome clinicians, researchers, trainees, and implementation scientists who are passionate about improving the quality of exposure therapy delivery. Whether your expertise is in clinical practice, training, technology, or research, your contributions can help us strengthen how exposure therapy is delivered in real-world settings.