Specific Phobia

Phobias can be frustrating at best and severely disruptive at worst. You might know, in theory, your fear is irrational. That doesn’t make the fear any less real or destructive. ​

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Clinical Definition 
Definition: Unreasonable or irrational fear of a specific object or situation.

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If you look in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders you’ll see five categories of common phobias:

• Situational. Fear of flying (aviophobia), fear of crossing bridges (gesphysrophobia), fear of driving, fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)
• Animal. Fear of dogs (cynophobia), fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), fear of spiders (arachnophobia), fear of bees (apiphobia)
• Natural Environment. Fear of heights (acrophobia), fear of the dark (achluophobia), fear of water (hydrophobia).
• Blood/Injection/Injury. Fear of injury (traumatophobia), fear of injections (trypanophobia), fear of blood (hematophobia), fear of vomiting (emetophobia)
• ​Other. Ex. Phobic avoidance of situations that may lead to choking, vomiting, or contracting an illness. In children, avoidance of loud sounds or costumed characters
  

Phobias can be frustrating at best and severely disruptive at worst. You might know, in theory, your fear is irrational. That doesn’t make the fear any less real or destructive.

Our Approach

You can’t think or rationalize your way out of a phobia. But we can help you overcome it with Exposure Response Prevention Therapy. We use evidenced-based techniques to help you change your relationship with your phobia and build new behaviors. By going toward your fear without avoidance, you will gain confidence necessary to live fully without fear.

Available Programs for Specific Phobia

At NW Anxiety Institute, we offer several programs for Specific Phobia based on your needs:

• Individual Therapy 
  Meet with a highly-skilled therapist trained in Exposure Response Prevention. We’ll primarily meet in our office, but depending on the phobia, we will collaborate on determining the best place for the exposures. 
• Group Therapy 
  The Adult Anxiety Group is open to anyone 18 or older struggling with anxiety. Meet with others facing similar challenges, gain support from your peers, and share your experiences. Similarly, the Teen Anxiety Group offers a safe environment for teens between the ages of 12 - 17 to meet, connect, and support one another. 
• Focus Program 
  ​We offer a unique, intensive outpatient program (IOP) for quicker results in a focused setting. Experience daily therapy sessions (individual, group, and skills-based, family) over a minimum three-week timespan without the distractions of everyday life. ​

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Working With Parents

You are not alone and we can help. Our team has extensive experience working with children and teens. But we believe working with parents is equally, if not more, important. We educate parents on understanding anxiety and recognizing the difference between anxiety and stress. We also help with identifying well-intentioned behaviors that may be maintaining your child’s anxiety. Most importantly, we train parents on active listening enhancement and using empathy to build stronger problem-solving skills. Check out our Parenting Anxious Kids page to learn more.

Parent's Corner
As a parent, you want the world to be a safe, secure place for your child. You want to slay their dragons and clear the monsters from under their bed. It’s a helpless feeling when their monsters take the form of irrational fears. Dealing with phobias can be confusing and frustrating. Your child may exhibit the following behaviors:

• Shows unreasonable fear when faced with a situation or object
• Avoids certain places or things
• Sweating
• Trembling