Phobias and Fears

Phobias are so common place that almost everybody has something that they feel funny about, that they know is a bit irrational, but nevertheless causes them a problem.

The severity of phobias ranges from mildly inconvenient all the way through to disruptive to living and is highly dependent on the person who is suffering.

At least 50% of our clients consult to overcome phobias of one sort or another and more often than not also end up solving a range of problems that are indirectly associated with the issue.

It could be that you have a fear of Spiders (Arachnophobia), or perhaps you “need” to sleep with the light on (fear of the dark – Nyctophobia), or perhaps you dread having to make a best man’s speech or presentation of some kind (fear of public speaking or Glossophobia).

On the whole, people generally manage to deal with these “minor” issues and they tend not to be too damaging to a person’s life.

There are, however, many people who also find that their phobias plays havoc with their lives preventing them from getting on with things, or perhaps “forcing” them to miss some great opportunity in life.

For example, many people feel a bit uncomfortable about flying in a plane, but nevertheless, still fly and enjoy the benefits of whatever lies at the end of the plane journey, but for those who have developed a more severe fear of flying they may be so phobic that they never take a foreign holiday, or turn down a promotion because it might entail inter-continental travel.

People suffering from severe Agoraphobia (Fear of open spaces) may never leave their homes becoming socially withdrawn and fearful.

So with all phobias, it is important to recognise that they may be mild or severe and that no two people suffer phobias in the same way.

Phobias bring people to our clinic more frequently than any other condition, and we have a wide variety of therapeutic interventions that can be of positive benefit to the sufferer.

Common Phobias We Encounter

• Fear of Vomiting – Emetophobia
• Fear of Being Judged – Social Anxiety
• Fear of Blushing – Erythrophobia
• Fear of Being Touched – Haphephobia
• Fear of Childbirth – Tokophobia
• Fear of Bridges – Gephyrophobia
• Fear of Dentists – Dentophobia
• Fear of Needles – Aichmophobia
• Fear of Public Speaking – Glossophobia

View a comprehensive list of phobias here.

You can also search for phobias by description here.

The types of Phobias is actually without end as people can actually have fears or phobias about ANYTHING.

There is even a Phobia of Phobias called “Phobophobia”.

Why are there so many Phobias?

That’s a good question!

From our point of view we recognise that the object or experience that produces the phobic response may simply be a “substitute” for some other fear or worry that we “carry” around with us.

Alternatively, it’s also possible that Phobias may be the result of a cognitive distortion developed over a number of years.

In other words we are not actually frightened of the thing itself, but having something definitive for us to “label” as the thing that causes the fear helps us to make sense of the “hidden” fear within us.

For example, people who have a Fear of Flying are, in 98% of the cases, actually afraid of being “out of control”.

It’s just a lot easier to call it “Fear of Flying” than to face the fact that you have control issues in your life!

So, if you regard phobias from this point of view, it is relatively easy to see how almost any object or experience could feel “phobic”.

Please do not misunderstand what we are saying here, the “fear” and “anxiety” that you experience when confronted with your “phobia trigger” is REAL, it’s just that the cause of it is something else.

Common Symptoms Associated with Phobias

• Anger problems
• Generalised Anxiety
• Social anxiety
• Control issues
• Feelings of depression
• Insomnia & sleeping problems
• Low Self-Esteem
• Low Self-Confidence
• Panic attacks
• Overthinking things
• Paranoia
• Stress
• Avoidance and safety behaviours

Psychotherapy for Phobias

Tranceform Psychology can offer a range of different psychotherapy solutions for phobias which you can read about below.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Phobias

If you’re committed to overcoming your phobias then we highly recommend following our Advanced Tranceformental CBT programme with Paul. Tranceformental CBT is available as Online Therapy if required as well as a self help CBT course.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic psychotherapy 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.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an empirically supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Alternative Therapies for Treating Phobias

Although our preferred form of psychotherapy for phobias 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 Phobias

We offer all prospective clients an initial consultation to discuss your phobias or mental health problems prior to commencing any counselling.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various types of psychological therapy 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 counselling service.

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

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