All About Harpaxophobia, the Fear of Being Robbed, & How To Overcome it with CBT, Therapy & Counselling in Wolverhampton & West Midlands

What is Harpaxophobia?

Harpaxophobia is the Fear of Being Robbed or Mugged and may also be a symptom of Paranoia.

If you have actually been robbed in your lifetime it can be a very disturbing experience and leave a legacy of fear in your life. This is often because robbery (in your home) encroaches on your personal space.

The Fear of Being Robbed may include the idea of being burgled when in the house as well as being mugged in the street and so encompasses a wide range of potential ‘trigger’ situations.

It may, or may not, be related to a previous traumatic experience.

All phobias, regardless of what the feared object or circumstances are, produce feelings of Anxiety and Stress for the sufferer, and Harpaxophobia is no different in this sense.

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

We completely understand this here at Tranceform Psychology and will treat you and your Harpaxophobia 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 Harpaxophobia sufferer “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 Harpaxophobia recognise 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!

Harpaxophobia Symptoms

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

Harpaxophobia 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!

Harpaxophobia 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 limiting beliefs in that person’s life – “I’ve learnt to live with it.”

In just as many cases, Harpaxophobia 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 Harpaxophobia will find a course of Psychological Therapy helps enormously.

Psychotherapy for Harpaxophobia

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

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Harpaxophobia

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

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic psychological therapy course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problems.

It will also help you to identify how unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issues, 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 Psychological Therapies for Harpaxophobia banner on Poppy Field Background

Alternative Therapies for Harpaxophobia

Although our preferred form of psychological therapy for Harpaxophobia 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 Harpaxophobia

We offer all prospective clients FREE initial consultations to discuss your Harpaxophobia prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various psychological 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 therapy 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.

Overcome Your Problems with our CBT Course

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is clinically proven to be effective across a range of different mental health problems.

Using our online learning platform, it is available with 2, 5 or 10 sessions of clinical support either face-to-face in the Wombourne offices, or using Zoom video facilities.

It can also be taken as a self help CBT course that will teach you the fundamental tools and techniques used throughout the mental health profession.