Finding common ground on conceptualization and treatment: Reply to Bridges et al. (2026), Cox (2026), Fung et al. (2026), and McLean and Wiltsey-Stirman (2026).

This is a reply to commentaries by Bridges et al. (2026), Cox (2026), Fung et al. (2026), and McLean and Wiltsey-Stirman (2026) on the authors’ original work titled “To Expose or Not to Expose: A Comprehensive Perspective on Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” (Rubenstein et al., 2024). Their work provides insightful challenges and contributions in three areas: (1) a necessary corrective regarding our perspective on prolonged exposure therapy, (2) the transtheoretical nature of exposure, and (3) the importance of interpersonal and cultural factors in posttraumatic stress disorder. The authors are grateful for this opportunity to further dialogue about ways to improve upon existing models of trauma and its treatment.