Agoraphobia Treatment Options - OmniMedicalSearch.com

Medication. Individuals with agoraphobia can benefit from medication to treat the symptoms. There are two types of medication prescribed:

Psychotherapy. Individuals with agoraphobia seems to benefit mostly from psychotherapy. There are three types of psychotherapies used to treat agoraphobia: (1) behavioral therapy, (2) cognitive therapy, and (3) cognitive-behavioral therapy.

1. Behavioral Therapy:Behavioral therapy is an effective treatment because individuals with agoraphobia learn to modify and gain control over unwanted behaviors, and to cope with challenging situations. During the initial phases of behavioral therapy, the person identifies those situations where the avoidance behavior occurs. The unwanted and unhealthy behaviors are changed through systematic desensitization (also called exposure therapy). The first step is learning relaxation skills that allows the person to cope and control the fear and anxiety. The second step is gradual exposure (first in imagination and than in reality) to feared stimulus.

2. Cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is another therapy that can bring relief in those with agoraphobia. It can serve as an alternative if the behavioral therapy failes. Cognitive therapy focuses on re-training the way the person thinks. The benefit of this type of therapy is that (1) the person gains information regarding their condition and what it causes, (2) learns relaxations techniques that help him control the fear, anxiety, and panic attack symptoms, (3) gains control over the dysfunctional thoughts by realistically evaluating and modifying the thinking patterns that trigger the agoraphobic symptoms, and (4) faces the feared situation by applying the new skills achieved.

3. Cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is considered the most effective psychotherapy that can treat agoraphobia. This type of therapy considers that our thoughts and not the external situations, people or events, trigger the behavior and feelings. This form of therapy combines methods from behavioral and cognitive therapies for a better outcome. Cognitive-behavioral therapy retrains the way a person thinks and reacts to different stimulus. This is possible if following several steps:

Individuals with agoraphobia seems to mostly benefit from exposure therapy, when the person eliminates the association originally formed between panic symptoms and feared situations, and cognitive restructuring, when the person identifies those thoughts associated with the feared situations, and replace them with realistic, functional thoughts.

Conditions & Diseases: Psychological & Mental Health

Agoraphobia