If you suddenly find yourself developing a phobia or have a long term phobic condition that you need help with, your first port of call may be to your doctor. Much of the time, GPs will dish out anti-depressants and tranquilizers which may help to remove some of the anxiety surrounding your phobia but usually do little to deal with the underlying condition.
Very often phobias need therapeutic treatments such as counselling in order to get to the heart of them, find out what is causing them and then work to treat them. Much more effective long-term, patents being provided with help in this way tend to have the problem eradicated rather than masking it.
Lots of phobias are triggered by anxiety and many adults suffer from this condition. Things like OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), social anxiety and social phobias as well as specific phobias like agoraphobia and claustrophobia can often be treated far more effectively with psychotherapy.
When you consult a therapist for help, they max use a mix of treatments to treat your phobia:
Cognitive therapy – the idea here is to change your negative thought patterns into much healthier ones. In order to make your phobia less debilitating, your counsellor will work with you to show you how to approach the situation that causes the anxiety in a different way.
Behavioural therapy – the counsellor or therapist will help you to deal with unsettling behaviour which accompanies your anxiety by using relaxation and stress relieving exercises.
Both methods are similar and help to re-shape your mind. Your analyst may also combine them with cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) which can be successfully used to treat all forms of phobia. If you would like us to put you in touch with a counsellor that can help you to deal with your phobias, fill in the form below. We will identify a practitioner that is suitable for you and who will be able to assist.
Telephone therapy is a form of counselling that involves you being treated by a therapist via phone. You will be able to talk freely about how you feel and what sort of distressing thoughts you may be having.
