Specific Phobias Therapy
People who suffer from phobias have exaggerated or unrealistic fears of objects or situations. As a result, they tend to avoid taking part in activities due to fears of unwanted consequences.
These individuals tend to take their thoughts of catastrophic outcomes very seriously and treat them as if they are universal truths. This only exacerbates symptoms and leads to increased fear and avoidance cycles.
I teach people, through a combination of cognitive defusion and behavioral exposure, to treat their thoughts exactly as what they are: stories the mind is telling. When we can look at the stories rather than from them, while testing out behaviorally to see if we can handle activities even with troubling stories present, we have the freedom to respond in ways that are adaptive and compatible with our values.
What are some specific phobias?
Some of the most common and debilitating phobias include:
Claustrophobia (fear of being in confined spaces)
Agoraphobia (fear of situations where panic may occur and escape is difficult or impossible)
Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Disorder (fear of being judged or negatively evaluated in social situations)
Illness Anxiety Disorder (fear of having a serious medical condition)
Blood-Injection Injury Phobia (irrational fear of injection and in response to seeing blood, injuries,or injections)
Aerophobia (fear of flying)
Driving Phobia (fear of driving in a car)
Acrophobia (fear of heights)
Arachnophobia (fear of spiders).
Most of these phobias are characterized by avoidance and distorted and/or obsessive thoughts.
What are the five subtypes of specific phobias?
The five subtypes of phobias are:
Natural type (e.g. fear of heights)
Situational type (e.g.social phobia)
Blood-injection-injury type (being injected or receiving medical examination)
Animal type (e.g. fear of dogs, snakes, spiders, insects)
Other types (unique phobias such as pogonophobia, or fear of beards)
“For an exaggerated fear of a particular situation or object to be considered a phobia, the fear must interfere in some way with the person’s life or be very distressing.”
What are the four main categories of phobias?
The four main categories of phobias are:
Fears related to animals
Fear of the natural environment
Fears related to specific situations
Fears related to medical instruments
What are some interesting phobias?
Some of the most interesting and common phobias in my experience include driving phobias and agoraphobia. This is not to make light of the conditions, as they can be terrifying and debilitating to sufferers, but to acknowledge that these and related phobias are more common than we might realize.
It is helpful to know that you are not alone in your condition, and you will be treated with compassion and respect as I walk alongside you on your journey of recovery. Through practice and supportive exercises, clients learn that they can take action even in the presence of scary thoughts, emotions, situations, and physical sensations.
Why do people have phobias?
Phobias often occur due to having had a negative experience or panic attack related to a specific situation, circumstance, or object. Some research suggests links between a person’s specific phobia(s) and those of his or her parents, suggesting genetic and learned behavioral origins.
In other situations, the origin of the phobia is difficult to identify.
For example, some people have a fear of driving despite having driven a car thousands of times without experiencing a serious accident or injury. In almost all cases, avoidance of feared situations tends to further reinforce the phobia.
Regardless of whatever phobia you suffer from, I take you seriously and treat you like the unique individual that you are. At the same time, my years of experience in treating phobias have taught me that certain characteristics are universal and predictable, and that treatment and recovery are therefore achievable.
Feel free to contact me if you would like to begin moving toward progress and recovery today.