Anyone who successfully confronts his fear (e.g., in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy) builds neuronal “safety networks” in his brain. However, in many situations these safety networks still compete with the old “fear networks”. Depending on which network has the upper hand, our organism reacts with fear or composure. Against this background, many researchers have been looking into the question of how “safety networks” can be further strengthened in our brain. Initial studies were able to show that we can significantly reduce the return of fear through simple mental training (in which we remember successful fear confrontations). Presumably, mental training consolidates the neuronal memory traces of our safety networks.

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Studies and books (only a small selection; all other studies can be found in the book: “Anxiety – what really helps…”):

Burck, E. (2019). Anxiety-What really helps against anxiety and panic attacks?: The most effective strategies against anxiety and panic from a research perspective. BoD Books on Demand.

Craske, M. G., Treanor, M., Conway, C. C., Zbozinek, T., & Vervliet, B. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behavior research and therapy, 58, 10-23.

Craske, M. G., Kircanski, K., Zelikowsky, M., Mystkowski, J., Chowdhury, N., & Baker, A. (2008). Optimizing inhibitory learning during exposure therapy. Behavior research and therapy, 46(1), 5-27.

McGlade, A. L., & Craske, M. G. (2021). Optimizing exposure: Between-session mental rehearsal as an augmentation strategy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 139, 103827.

Mystkowski, J. L., Craske, M. G., Echiverri, A. M., & Labus, J. S. (2006). Mental reinstatement of context and return of fear in spider-fearful participants. Behavior Therapy, 37(1), 49-60.

Vervliet, B., Craske, M. G., & Hermans, D. (2013). Fear extinction and relapse: state of the art. Annual review of clinical psychology, 9, 215-248.