Role of Behavioral Therapy in Treating Phobias

Phobiasdon't require treatment unless the fear is preventing you from working, performing necessary daily tasks or having healthy interpersonal relationships. For example, if you live in the U.S. and have a fear of tigers, you could avoid the zoo instead of spending time and money onphobia treatment.

Most forms of this type of anxiety disorder are curable.但是，没有单一的治疗方法适用于所有恐惧症。如果您确实寻求治疗，治疗师用来帮助您的确切方法可能会有所不同。这是一种看一些常见类型的治疗治疗恐惧症。

恐惧症的认知行为治疗

恐惧症患者认为令人担忧的情况本质上是危险的。这种信念导致negative automatic thoughtsthat occur as soon as the feared situation is encountered and the automatic thoughts lead to a phobic behavioral reaction.

It may take several CBT sessions to counteract this thought pattern. In order to accomplish this, the therapist can help you overcome your fear with incremental steps. A sample treatment plan for a fear of dogs might include first reading about dogs, then watching a dog movie, and finally taking you to play with a harmless puppy.

Techniques commonly used in cognitive行为治疗draw from the schools of behaviorism and学习理论as well as the school of认知理论.

Group Therapy to Help Ease Fears

认知行为治疗is a common type of group therapy for phobias, although many forms of therapy use this method.

You may see advertisements for group CBT sessions for phobias, which may call the therapy session a seminar. The duration may be one hour or several days. A group of people with a fear of flying, for example, may assemble at an airport hotel for the weekend, where they might engage in a combination of psychoeducational classes andexposure sessions在机场里面。

个人治疗

Individual therapy allows the therapist and client to focus on each other, building a rapport and working together to solve the client's issue. However, psychoanalysis and related therapies may progress for months or even years, while brief therapies such as CBT can produce results in just a few sessions.

Family Therapy

If the therapist feels that your family situation may be contributing to the development or progression of the phobia, then she may suggest family therapy as part of a treatment plan.

A particularly common application of family therapy places the therapist in the role of facilitating one or more communication sessions between the family members. Family therapy is a common part of treatment plans for children with phobias.

恐惧症的药物

A good therapist will design a uniquetreatment planto meet your needs. He might prescribe药物(which is more common for social phobia than for a fear of a specific object or situation). These medicines could include:

• β阻滞剂阻断肾上腺素的影响
• 反depressants, or SSRIs, to act on the serotonin in your brain
• Sedatives to relax and reduce anxiety