Edna Foa and Prolonged Exposure: A Short Course for Learners

Edna Foa, a clinical psychologist whose career reshaped trauma treatment, developed prolonged exposure therapy in the 1980s; the method, which she organized and tested, simplified complex exposure techniques into a structured program that clinicians could teach and replicate. By asking patients to revisit memories and to enter safe but avoided situations, prolonged exposure aimed to reduce pathological fear through repeated, controlled practice.

Prolonged exposure combines imaginal exposure—recounting the trauma aloud—and in vivo exposure—gradual real-world facing of reminders—and these components have been evaluated in randomized trials and clinical studies. Over decades, research literature has repeatedly found exposure-based protocols to reduce PTSD symptoms, and prolonged exposure has been integrated into training programs and some veterans’ services.

Foa taught at Temple and the Medical College of Pennsylvania before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 1998, where she directed the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. She wrote manuals that were translated into nine languages and earned major honors, including recognition on Time’s 2010 list of 100 most influential people; her influence extended from academic journals to clinic training worldwide.

She died on March 24, 2026, at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia from complications of pneumonia at the age of 88. If future research refines the mechanisms behind recovery, clinicians will still owe a debt to her systematic approach; it provided a replicable scaffold for trials and training. Her manuals and training workshops made it possible for therapists across many countries to apply the method with fidelity.