Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is the Fear of Open Spaces, or in some circumstances, public spaces. Sufferers often find it difficult to leave the comfort and safety of their own homes for fear that something bad may happen, or that they will not be able to get back home.

During 2020 the UK experienced the Coronavirus pandemic in which the British public were constantly told about the dangers of venturing outside and even that going outside endangered other people lives.

Following the lowering of lockdown measures, many people felt that it was still too dangerous to go outside and began to develop Agoraphobia as a result of post coronavirus stress.

Agoraphobia is also used within psychiatric diagnostics to ‘gauge’ the level of anxiety that a person may be experiencing and so is often linked directly with anxiety disorders.

All phobias, regardless of what the feared object or circumstances are, cause Anxiety and Stress for the sufferer.

Whilst the feared object or situation may seem, to other people, to be ridiculous or silly, the person who suffers from the phobia knows only too well that the Anxiety that they experience is real enough.

We completely understand this here at TranceForm Psycology and will treat you and your Agoraphobia seriously.

For many years Psychologists have been aware that our minds are more than capable of producing a real biological reaction to any given situation and so as long as the Phobic person “believes” that the object or situation they fear represents danger to them, then they will experience real fear.

The majority of people who do suffer with a Phobia understand that their fear is “irrational” but continue to experience it regardless of this knowledge. This is why simply being told to “snap out of it” rarely produces a solution!

Symptoms of Agoraphobia

The symptoms of Agoraphobia are very similar to other specific phobias and will often include:

• Feelings of Panic, Dread or Terror
• Staying indoors
• An Impending Sense of Dread if having to go out
• Problems Concentrating
• Being quick tempered
• Feelings of dizziness
• Difficulties in becoming motivated
• Prickly sensations like pins and needles
• Palpitations
• Aches & Pains
• Fatigued Muscles
• Dry and Sticky mouth
• Sweating Excessively
• Breathlessness
• Migraines and Headaches
• Poor Quality of Sleep

Agoraphobia Symptoms are generally automatic and uncontrollable and can seem to take over a person’s thoughts which frequently leads to extreme measures being taken to avoid the feared object or situation, what are known as “Safety” or “Avoidance”behaviours.

Unfortunately, for the sufferer, these safety behaviours have a paradoxical effect and actually reinforce the phobia rather than solve it!

Agoraphobia may be the result of negative emotional experiences that can be either directly or indirectly linked to the object or situational fear.

Over time, the symptoms often become “normalised” and “accepted” as a limiting factor in that person’s life – “I’ve learnt to live with it.”

In just as many cases, Agoraphobia may have become worse over time as more and more sophisticated safety behaviours and routines are developed.

The good news is that the vast majority of people who suffer from Agoraphobia will find a course of Psychotherapy helps enormously.

Almost every phobia responds well to psychological interventions.

Psychological Therapy for Agoraphobia

Tranceform Psychology can offer a range of different psychological therapy solutions for Agoraphobia which you can read about below.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Agoraphobia

If you’re committed to overcoming your Agoraphobia problems then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT 10 session programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic mental health counselling course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify how unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issue, and then show you how to make any changes to your unhelpful thinking styles or maladaptive safety behaviours that you may have developed as part of your coping strategies.

The programme is also available as an online self-help CBT programme.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an evidence-based, research supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Alternative Therapies for Agoraphobia

Although our preferred form of mental health counselling for Agoraphobia is Tranceformental CBT we also offer alternative psychotherapies for those who might prefer a different approach.

These include:

Psychodynamic therapy which focuses more on emotional problems and relies on the Therapeutic Relationship to bring about change. Available with Paul.

General Counselling which is less structured but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment to discuss issues which is therapeutic in its own right.

Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of therapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.

Free Initial Consultations for Agoraphobia

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to discuss your Agoraphobia prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss any therapy treatments BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.