Specific Phobias Counseling
There are numerous different types of phobias. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – 5th Edition (DSM-V) has broken the different types down into 5 categories.
1. Natural Environment Type (e.g., heights, storms)
2. Blood-Injection-Injury Type (e.g., needles, medical procedures)
3. Animal Type (i.e, dogs, spiders, bees)
4. Situational Type (i.e., airplanes, elevators, enclosed spaces)
5. Other Type (i.e., events that may lead to choking, vomiting, or contracting an illness)
Specific phobias are common, treatable, and well-understood, but many people with a Specific Phobia rarely enter treatment. A Specific Phobia is marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, and this almost always provokes anxiety. The fear is not proportional to the actual danger. The feared object or situation is avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety. The fear or anxiety causes the individual significant distress or impairment in their social, occupational or academic, or other importantareas of functioning.
Treatment for Specific Phobia
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) is the most effective treatment for Specific Phobias. These therapies work by challenging and changing thought patterns, increasing adaptive coping skills, modifying behaviors, learning relaxation techniques, and gradually exposing the individual to the feared situation and preventing avoidance of the feared object or situation.
Our clinicians are trained and have experience in providing these evidence-based treatments.
Contact our office at (847) 461-8414