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Phone: 07974 421733
Phobia Therapy
Treatment: CBT / Hypnotherapy
A phobia is an excessive or irrational fear of something. There are different categories of phobia:
Agoraphobia, an irrational fear of being somewhere that could be difficult or embarrassing to escape from. Often it is a crowded place such as a supermarket or restaurant. The person may be afraid of having a panic attack or other distressing symptoms such as loss of bladder control.
Social phobia, an irrational anxiety or fear about certain types of social or performance situations, for example public speaking. This can lead to avoidance.
Specific phobias, including
- Animal type such as fear of dogs, birds, butterflies, spiders.
- Nature type, cued by heights, thunder ctc.
- Blood/injection/injury, cued by the sight of some invasive medical procedure or of witnessing an injury.
- Situational, such as fear of transport, elevators, confined spaces, flying etc.
- Other types, cued by stimuli such as vomiting. Contracting an illness, choking etc.
These irrational fears interfere with your everyday life. The fear has to be excessive and disproportionate to the situation to have a diagnosis of a phobia. The treatment for phobias is gradual exposure with relaxation. I use a combination of Hypnotherapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I teach relaxation and when you are relaxed and comfortable it is impossible to be anxious. I gradually introduce the least of the fears, gradually and comfortably building up to the most difficult. I am not an advocate of flooding. I prefer a gentle approach using guided imagery.