Life Change On Line 

Psychotherapy and Phobias

So many people suffer greatly from fears and phobias - and counselling/psychotherapy has a great success rate in relieving them. Whatever your particular phobia might be, it is probable that it can help you too.

The number of identifiable phobias is enormous, and to the sufferer, the consequences can be virtually crippling. It can mean being afraid to leave the house, never flying off on a holiday, having a panic attack when one sees a dog or a spider - the list is almost endless. While your fear mechanism serves a purpose - it helps to stop you walking out in front of a bus, for example - it can get out of control.

However, the use of counselling, perhaps together with systematic de-sensitisation or cognitive therapy, can resolve these fears, leaving the sufferer free to lead a happier and more fulfilling life.  You can be helped - there is no need to ‘put up with it’, as many clients have discovered.

Consider irrational ‘FEAR’ for a moment - what is it? - a False Expectation Appearing Real - and it can be dealt with! At your initial consultation, the therapist will evaluate your problem and its probable causes, and develop a course of treatment best suited to your personal needs and personality. At this stage the therapist will best be able to tell you how many treatment sessions you may need - this of course varies from person to person.

The therapy used will vary , but the most common approach is to lower baseline levels of anxiety using hypnosis, progressing to systematic desensitisation, in which the client learns to experience the phobic object/situation under hypnosis and in a completely safe and relaxed environment. After a series of carefully graded 'exposures', the phobia is resolved.