What is the treatment for a Specific Phobia?
A Specific Phobia is a marked and persistent fear of a specific object or situation. There are four categories of specific phobias: • animal • natural environment, ie storms, heights, water • blood, injection, injury • situational, ie a specific situation, such as public transport, tunnels, bridges, elevators, flying Other phobias include situations that may lead to choking, vomiting or contracting an illness. Generally the person will avoid the object or situation, or they feel intense fear if they have to confront it. Fear of the object or situation is distressing to the point that it causes disruption in emotional, social or occupational functioning. The person with the phobia recognise that their fear is excessive or unreasonable.
