Conditions & Diseases: Psychological & Mental Health

Specific Phobia

See Also:
Specific Phobia: Introduction & Overview
Specific Phobia: Types
Specific Phobia: Symptoms
Specific Phobia: Causes & Risk Factors
Specific Phobia: Treatment Options

Specific Phobia Treatment

Suffering from a specific phobia can affect the quality of life by limiting the individual's social interactions and activities, interfering with their occupational and career goals, and in some cases, even affecting their health. Treatment is the only option for individuals with specific phobia to regain control over their life.

Specific phobia can be effectively treated if the individual seeks professional help. Fortunately, specific phobia is the only anxiety disorder that is effectively treated with psychological approaches rather than medication. There are no controlled trials that can support the efficacy of medication for specific phobia.

The most effective forms of psychotherapy are: cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has proven to be effective in treating specific phobia. However, this form of psychotherapy is employed more efficiently when the phobia has a significant cognitive component. Cognitive behavioral therapy combines two components (cognitive and behavioral component) for a better outcome. The cognitive component targets the individuals dysfunctional thinking patterns that supports and maintains the anxiety response, replacing them with more adaptive and realistic cognitions. The most effective technique is cognitive restructuring which challenges the irrational beliefs. This method is based on the theory that the unrealistic beliefs built when exposed to fear stimuli generate, maintain, and increase dysfunctional emotions and behaviors. The behavioral component targets the individual's reaction to the phobic stimulus. The most effective behavioral approach is exposure therapy, when in a safe setting the individual gradually gets exposed to their feared stimulus, first using the imagination and then by direct confrontation.

Behavioral therapy is another effective form of therapy that can treat specific phobia. The goal of behavioral therapy is to modify the fear-related behaviors and gain control over the dysfunctional behaviors. Two of the most effective behavioral techniques used to treat specific phobia are: (1) learning a relaxation technique which allows the individual to control the anxiety, and (2) exposure technique which gradually exposed the individual to feared stimuli.

Medication, can be another treatment approach for individuals with specific phobia. However, medication has a limited utility in the treatment of specific phobia. In some cases, antidepressants (such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - SSRIs) and tranquilizers (to reduce the anxiety) can be prescribed for individuals with specific phobia. Medication seems to be more effective when the individual with specific phobia has another coexistent anxiety disorder.

See Also:
Specific Phobia: Introduction & Overview
Specific Phobia: Types
Specific Phobia: Symptoms
Specific Phobia: Causes & Risk Factors
Specific Phobia: Treatment Options

Article by Alina Morrow
MS Psychology
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com

Sources:

eMedicine, Anxiety Disorder: Specific Phobia, August 2006 (1)
Fear and Anxiety, Learn to live life without them, Specific Phobia Statistics, Unknown date
PsychCentral, Specific or Simple Phobia Symptoms, by John M. Grohol, Psy.D., March 2008
Anxietypanic.com, Specific Phobia, Unknown date
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition, Specific Phobia (formerly Simple Phobia), May 2003 (2)
Anxiety Disorder Association of America, Specific Phobia, Unknown date
WebMD, Anxiety and Panic Disorders Health Center, Mental Health: Specific Phobia, March 2007