Guide · Exposure ladders
Sample ladders you can start from
Here are three ready-made exposure ladders for common patterns—just-right, perfectionism, and avoidance—each adapted from the ERP literature and rated 0–100. Tap Add on any of them to drop it straight into Foothold Now, then make it yours: reword the steps in your own words and re-rate them for you.
1. Just-right
The distressing sense that something is uneven, incomplete, or not quite right—until it's fixed, redone, or lined up. The exposure is to leave things “off” on purpose and resist the urge to correct them, so the feeling can pass on its own.
Why: practice letting things be “off” without fixing them.
Adapted from the research on “not just right experiences” (Coles et al., 2003) and symmetry/ordering exposure in Foa et al. (2012).
Add this ladder to Foothold Now2. Perfectionism
When “good enough” never feels good enough, and mistakes feel intolerable—so you re-check, redo, and polish long past the point of use. The exposure is to make small imperfections on purpose and let them stand.
Why: practice “good enough” and tolerating small mistakes.
Adapted from perfectionism exposure work in Antony & Swinson (2009).
Add this ladder to Foothold Now3. Avoidance
When anxiety and OCD run mostly on steering around triggers—so the obsession never has to fire and the fear never gets tested. The exposure is to approach what you avoid, on purpose, while holding back the usual outs (washing, checking, reassurance). This example uses a contamination theme; swap in whatever you avoid.
Why: practice approaching what I avoid, without the usual outs.
Adapted from contamination/exposure and ritual-prevention hierarchies in Foa et al. (2012) and Abramowitz (2018).
Add this ladder to Foothold NowHow to use them
Tapping Add creates the ladder in Foothold Now. From there:
- Reword every step in your own language—your triggers are specific to you.
- Re-rate each step 0–100 by how hard it feels, not how hard it “should.” The ladder reorders itself, gentlest first.
- Delete what doesn't fit and add what does. A ladder that's truly yours is the one that works.
- Decide your response-prevention rule for each step (the compulsion you'll hold back), and jot it in the step's Notes.
Common questions
What is an OCD exposure ladder?
An exposure ladder (also called a fear ladder or exposure hierarchy) is a list of situations OCD makes you avoid, broken into small steps and ordered easiest to hardest by how much distress each brings, rated 0–100. In ERP you climb it on purpose while resisting the compulsion, so the distress can fall on its own.
How do I use these sample ladders?
Pick the closest one, tap Add, then make it yours: reword each step, drop what doesn't fit, add what does, and re-rate everything 0–100 for you. The samples are a starting point, not a prescription.
What is just-right OCD?
Tied to what researchers call “not just right experiences,” it's the distressing sense that something is incomplete or uneven until it's fixed or redone. Exposure means leaving things off on purpose and resisting the urge to correct them.
Are these ladders a substitute for therapy?
No—they're educational examples adapted from ERP literature, not treatment. ERP works best with a trained therapist, especially for OCD, where subtle mental rituals are easy to miss. If you work with a clinician, build your ladders together.
References
- Abramowitz, J. S. (2018). Getting over OCD: A 10-step workbook for taking back your life (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Antony, M. M., & Swinson, R. P. (2009). When perfect isn't good enough: Strategies for coping with perfectionism (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications.
- Coles, M. E., Frost, R. O., Heimberg, R. G., & Rhéaume, J. (2003). “Not just right experiences”: Perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive features and general psychopathology. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41(6), 681–700.
- Foa, E. B., Yadin, E., & Lichner, T. K. (2012). Exposure and response (ritual) prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Therapist guide (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
The ladders here are illustrative examples informed by the principles and example hierarchies in these works, not verbatim reproductions. Foothold Now is independent and not affiliated with the authors or publishers listed.