PE is not about forcing yourself through pain. It is practised courage—approaching what you’ve been avoiding, slowly enough to stay present and safely enough for your nervous system to discover: this happened, and I am alive now.

Two companion practices guide us:

• Imaginal exposure — In session, we tell the story of what occurred at a pace your body can bear. We record the work; you’ll relisten at home so the memory can settle into the past.
• In-vivo exposure — Between sessions, we re-enter everyday life in measured steps: the street you stopped walking, the café you avoided, the conversation you postponed. We build a ladder from “doable” to “brave,” and climb it together.

We notice the ebb and rise of feeling—what clinicians call distress ratings—without turning your heart into a checklist. The point is not perfection; the point is freedom.