A specific phobia is more than just being afraid of something – it’s an intense, persistent, and often overwhelming fear of a particular object, situation, or experience. The fear is disproportionate to the actual threat and can lead to avoidance that interferes with daily life.
Common phobias include:
Heights (acrophobia)
Spiders or insects (arachnophobia)
Flying (aviophobia)
Needles or medical procedures (trypanophobia)
Enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)
Vomiting (emetophobia)
Unlike general fear, a specific phobia triggers an automatic and intense anxiety response, sometimes even leading to a panic attack. While many people dislike certain situations or objects, a phobia cause significant distress and avoidance, often disrupting work, travel, or daily activities.
At The Victorian Psychology Clinic we recognise that recovering from specific phobias requires a tailored, evidence-based approach. In line with our values, we aim to work collaboratively with our clients, referrers and other professionals involved in our clients care including general practitioners, other allied health professionals and psychiatrists.
Signs and Symptoms of Specific Phobias:
People with specific phobias experience both psychological distress and physical anxiety symptoms when exposed to, or even thinking about, their feared object or situation:
Common symptoms include:
- Intense fear or panic when faced with the phobic object or situation.
- Avoidance of the feared situation, sometimes to the point of limiting daily activities.
- Physical symptoms like a racing heart, dizziness, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, or nausea.
- Feeling out of control or having an overwhelming urge to escape when confronted with the fear.
- Anticipatory anxiety, meaning distressing thoughts about encountering the phobia, sometimes days or weeks in advance.
Even when a person recognises their fear as irrational, the anxiety response feels automatic and uncontrollable. This is because phobias often involve the amygdala, the brain’s fear-processing centre, which triggers a rapid fight-or-flight response.
Treatment for Specific Phobias
Specific phobias are highly treatable, and many people see improvement with structured psychological therapy.
- Exposure Therapy (Gradual Exposure): This is the most effective treatment for phobias. It involves gradual, controlled exposure to the feared object or situation in a way that helps the brain learn it is not as dangerous as it feels. In some cases, virtual reality therapy can be used to simulate exposure to feared situations in a safe and controlled way.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT helps individuals reframe fearful thoughts, reduce catastrophic thinking, and build confidence in managing their reactions.
- Relaxation and Grounding Techniques: Controlled breathing, mindfulness, and muscle relaxation can help regulate the body’s physical anxiety response when encountering a phobic trigger.
- Medication: While not a primary treatment, short-term medication (such as beta-blockers or anti-anxiety medications) may be considered in certain cases, such as for individuals with extreme fear of flying.
How we can support you
At VPC, we offer evidence-based treatments for specific phobias, tailored to each person’s level of distress and readiness to engage in therapy.
- We work at your pace to help you build confidence in facing fears in a safe, structured way.
- Our psychologists help reframe unhelpful thoughts and reduce anticipatory anxiety.
- Clients learn effective skills to manage physical anxiety and feel more in control.
- Every phobia is different, and we tailor therapy to your specific experience and comfort level.
If a specific phobia is interfering with your life, effective support is available.
We have a number of clinicians who work with eating disorders. To learn more, please refer to our Psychologists page for clinician details.
If you are currently experiencing eating difficulties or body image concerns and would like to begin your journey to recovery, get in touch with us. We are here to help.