All About The Fear of Fish & How To Overcome it with CBT Therapy & Counselling in Wolverhampton & West Midlands

About The Fear of Fish

The Fear of Fish is also known as Ichthyophobia and is a relatively rare phobia.

It is possible that the rapid and random movement of a fish, that is often seen in peripheral vision (out of the corner of the eye) leads directly to the ‘startle’ reflex which may then lead onto an anxiety reaction.

There are very few dangerous fish and so the likelihood that the fear of fish is based on an actual negative experience is fairly low.

The most likely cause of this phobia is rooted in childhood, perhaps on seeing a parent exhibit a negative reaction which then becomes a ‘learned behaviour’.

Fear is the emotional experience that we have when we perceive there to be some sort of threat in our immediate location or context, or even that a threat may present itself in the future (anticipatory anxiety) and this is certainly true for somebody who has a fear of Fish.

Many people do not really understand or have a great deal of sympathy for people who suffer with the fear of Fish as it may not be something they personally experience, however, for the person suffering this fear the stress and anxiety that they experience is real and not imagined.

We are fully aware of the subjective nature of individual fears and will treat you and your Fear of Fish seriously when you consult us for help.

Fear of Fish Symptoms

The symptoms associated with the fear of Fish have much in common with other fears and phobias and may include:

• Generalised Anxiety
• Social anxiety
• Control issues
• Insomnia & sleeping problems
• Low Self-Esteem
• Panic attacks
• Overthinking
• Paranoia
• Stress

Often the symptoms of Ichthyophobia can seem to occur without the object of fear even being present indicating that the fear of Fish has become normalised into everyday life.

This normalisation process often results in the development and use of safety behaviours in an attempt to prevent exposure to triggering events which, paradoxically, may cause the problem to get worse.

In other words, safety behaviours tend to reinforce the fear of Fish rather than diminish it!

Ichthyophobia may be the result of earlier traumatic experiences that can be directly (or indirectly) linked to a specific object or situation, but this is not always the case because fears can also be inherited as learned behaviours from the social context in which a person is brought up.

The good news is that the majority of people who suffer with a fear of Fish will find a course of psychotherapy highly beneficial.

Therapy & Counselling for the Fear of Fish

You can read more about the different types of psychological therapy for the fear of Fish below.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the Fear of Fish

If you’re determined to overcome your fear of Fish then we highly recommend following our 10 session Tranceformental CBT programme with Paul.

T-CBT is a clinically proven psychotherapy course that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify any limiting beliefs and unhelpful thinking styles that you might have developed in order to cope, and then provide guidance on how to make changes to your thinking and behaviours to irradicate the problems.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has an excellent track-record with problems based on anxiety and fearful cognitions (thoughts) which are key factors in the fear of Fish.

Alternative Psychotherapies for the Fear of Fish

Although we generally recommend CBT for Ichthyophobia, we also offer alternative psychotherapies for people preferring a different approach.

These include:

Psychodynamic therapy which focuses on understanding why the problem has arisen and relies on the therapy relationship to bring about change.

Counselling which is less formally structured than CBT but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment in which to discuss issues. Talking problems through with a skilled counsellor is often therapeutic in its own right.

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

Free Initial Consultations for the Fear of Fish

We offer all prospective clients FREE initial consultations to discuss your Ichthyophobia problems prior to commencing any psychotherapy programmes.

The consultation and lasts around 50 minutes.

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

Initial consultations are also available online.

We recognise the importance of the therapy relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so it is important to meet (either face-to-face or online) before deciding to follow a course of psychotherapy.

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