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COUNSELLING FOR PHOBIAS

Phobias involve feelings of fear and anxiety about a situation, place or an object which are not commonly considered dangerous.  Anticipating these situations can cause real dread and make sufferers reorganise their lives to avoid them. Fernwood offers effective, evidence-based counselling for phobias such as Exposure Therapy, to help neutralise the impact of a situation perceived to be threatening.
Types of Phobias

There are several general types of phobias:

  • Specific (isolated) phobias
These phobias are restricted to specific situations, for example heights, darkness, flying, enclosed spaces, animals, thunder, eating certain foods, dentistry, sight of blood or injury;

  • Social Phobias
Social phobia is a fear of attention by other people which can lead to avoidance of social situations. This type of phobia can be associated with low self-esteem and fear of criticism. People can find themselves over-preparing for social occasions or over-analysing them afterwards. This type of anxiety is very common;

  • Agoraphobia
This type of phobias is defined as a fear of open and or / public spaces. Situations such as leaving home, going shopping, being in a crowd or in public transport can produce anxiety. People often avoid the spaces that cause them to feel uneasy and sometimes do not leave home altogether. As a result, this could have a dramatic impact on the person's ability to lead a normal life.
Symptoms

Regardless of the type of phobia, you might experience the following symptoms:

  • Fear of losing control or having no escape
  • Feeling panicky or stressed
  • Desire to avoid the situation no matter what
  • Unable to think clearly or concentrate because of the anxiety
  • Feeling faint / irregular heat beat
  • Blushing
  • Trembling
  • Nausea
Treatment

Simple phobias are usually treated with exposure therapy (also known as desensitisation). This is a type of CBT  and involves gradual exposure to the object or situation that you fear. For example, if you have a fear of spiders (arachnophobia) the therapist may first show you a picture of a spider, a short film about spiders, spiders in a fish tank and finally arrange to see and hold a live spider.

For social phobia and agoraphobia, a tailor-made form of CBT is usually recommended. For social phobia, around 15 90 minute sessions over 4 months are typically considered an adequate course of treatment. For agoraphobia, the treatment is briefer and 7-14 hours over 4 months is usually enough.
If you have any questions about how Fernwood can help you with counselling for phobias, please contact us on info@fernwoodclinic.co.uk
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Fernwood Clinic, 72 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9HR. Tel: 020 8673 8604

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