Exposure to Social Situations
185IMAGINED EXPOSURE TO SOCIAL SITUATIONS
Whenever possible, in vivo exposure (actual exposure to feared situations) is preferable 
to exposure in the imagination. In fact, imagined exposure is rarely used for treating 
social anxiety. Still, exposure in the imagination may be useful either when the real situ -
ation is too overwhelming for you to enter or when you are unable to confront the actual 
situation for practical reasons (for instance, you have an upcoming college exam and no 
earlier opportunities to practice taking it).
Imagined exposure may be helpful to prepare you to enter the actual situation. 
When you are using imagined exposure, the guidelines are generally the same as for in 
vivo exposure. For example, practices should be frequent (if possible, daily) and should 
continue until your fear decreases (for example, thirty to sixty minutes). Whenever pos -
sible, imagined exposure should be followed by in vivo exposure in the actual situation.
When conducting imagined exposure practices, close your eyes and try to imagine 
the situation as vividly as possible. Some people ﬁnd it helpful to make a tape recording 
describing the situation in detail and then listen to the tape during subsequent practices. 
Other people ﬁnd it helpful simply to imagine being in the situation, without the help of 
a recorded description. Either way, it’s important to imagine the experience vividly, so 
that it feels as real as possible. Your imagined exposure practices should produce many 
of the same feelings that are produced by real exposure, although the intensity of these 
feelings may be lower during imagined exposure. We recommend that you ask yourself 
the following questions to help bring the experience to life:
UÊWhat do I see around me? What do my surroundings look like? Who else 
is here?