Clinical psychologists providing treatment for phobias and fears

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WHAT IS A PHOBIA?

A phobia is an intense fear of a particular object or situation. A person with a phobia experiences strong fear and panic symptoms when they encounter what they fear. These panic symptoms are part of the ‘fight or flight response’ that prepares the body to respond quickly to  a threat. Most people recognise their fear as being excessive or unreasonable but feel unable to stop it. Not surprisingly, most people try to avoid the feared object and situation where possible. 

Phobias are the most common anxiety disorder, affecting around 9-12.5% of the population. Phobias tend to develop in childhood, however this is not a rule, with many people developing a phobia later in life. Few people seek treatment for phobias, often because the phobia can be easily avoided. However, if left untreated, phobias tend to persist for a long time.

 

COMMON TYPES OF PHOBIAS

Animals: fear of animals such as dogs, birds, snakes, spiders, mice, cockroaches, worms, moths, etc

Natural environment: fear of an aspect of the natural environment (e.g., storms, water, the dark)

Blood-injection-injury: fear of needles, blood tests, medical procedures, piercings, blood, wounds, scars. Many people with this phobia feel disgust (rather than fear) and may faint (or worry about fainting or feel light-headed) when exposed to their feared situation.

Situational: fear of being in particular situations such as, flying, heights, and enclosed spaces.

Other: this category is for phobias that do not fit neatly into the above 4 categories (e.g., fear of germs, fear of vomiting).

It is common to have multiple phobias, and not just one.

 

HOW DO PHOBIAS DEVELOP?

Many people wonder why they have a particular phobia. People tend to develop a phobia in the following ways:

Traumatic experience: some people become frightened of a particular object or situation after having a traumatic experience. For example, a young child might develop a fear of dogs after being bitten by a dog.

Learning from others: Many people develop phobias of things that they have never directly encountered. It is possible to develop a phobia by watching or listening to others who are afraid (e.g.,. parents and friends), or the media.

Biological Factors: Phobias are more common in people whose relatives have phobias, suggesting that there could be a genetic contribution to the development of phobias.

 

How ARE PHOBIAS TREATED?

Medication is not particularly helpful for the treatment of phobias. The most effective psychological treatment is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). This treatment generally involves education about phobias and the phobic object or situation, and challenging unrealistic beliefs about how dangerous the object or situation really is. Avoiding the feared object or situation simply keeps the fear going, therefore a major part of therapy includes 'graded exposure', which is gradually exposing yourself to your feared object or situation. For example, in the case of a height phobia, one might start off by standing on a chair, then a table, then climb half way up a ladder, then all the way....and so on......... The idea is for the exposure to be slow and controlled, so that the sufferer always feels capable of handling the situation. By slowly confronting their fears, sufferers also learn that many of their beliefs are unrealistic and they also feel better about their ability to cope. Learning to relax and reducing stress can also help. The 'graded exposure' is always done at the client's pace and they stay in control of the whole process. It is helpful to learn anxiety management skills first.


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Clinical psychologists, providing CBT, treatment and counselling throughout Sydney.