Single Session Phobia Treatment

• Needle/Injection Phobia 
• Fear of Heights/Flying 
• Bodily Fluid (Blood/Vomit) Phobias 
• Insect/Animal Phobias 
• Dental Phobia  
• Fear of deep water 
• Fear of thunderstorms 
• Social phobias  
• Fear of driving 
• Fear of enclosed spaces 

When an individual is grappling with a phobia, he or she can experience distressing physiological sensations (e.g., heart racing, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, etc.) and distressing cognitive experiences (e.g., severe and uncontrollable worry, catastrophic beliefs, and difficulties concentrating) which can lead to ineffective and maladaptive behaviors such as avoiding and escaping from situations, people, places, or things which remind them of the phobia or have the possibility of exposing them to their greatest fear.  This can leave a person feeling highly dissatisfied with life, almost as if he or she is trapped and void of the freedom to live life to the fullest.  Ultimately, believing one cannot control this fear can lead to intense feelings of anxiety and/or depression, and can even result in hopelessness and helplessness.  

Phobia treatment therapy is a highly individualized, evidence-based form of treatment which equips individuals with the skills necessary to overcome their greatest fears.  While facing one’s fears requires a great deal of courage, this form of treatment leaves individuals feeling empowered and self-efficacious as they learn how to regain control over a fear that has robbed them of much joy, peace, and confidence. 

Phobia treatment therapy begins with a thorough intake evaluation whereby Dr. Tomassetti takes time to learn about your specific fear(s), enabling her to make treatment recommendations (e.g., single vs. multisession treatment) to best address your needs.  From there, she will individualize a treatment plan in a collaborative manner, ensuring that you are aware of each treatment step along the way. At the onset of treatment, you will be provided with a rationale for phobia treatment therapy, along with the opportunity to ask Dr. Tomassetti questions about the treatment process.  Phobia treatment therapy is a collaborative process whereby Dr. Tomassetti gradually walks you through the exposure process in a planful and controlled manner.  As treatment continues, you will experience gradual exposure to your specific fear while being equipped with the skills necessary to reevaluate and reconstruct the false catastrophic beliefs related to the phobia.  Opportunities to avoid and/or escape one’s fear(s) will be eliminated during treatment, so that new and healthy appraisals can be established, thus decreasing one’s engagement in catastrophic cognitions and increasing one’s self-efficacy in his or her ability to cope.  The following graphic demonstrates how one’s anxiety level changes during an exposure exercise:

There are different types of exposure interventions, and depending on your specific phobia, Dr. Tomassetti will determine which type(s) of exposure will be the most effective.  Imaginal exposure is utilized to have clients imagine their fear in great detail, thus exposing them to the thoughts and accompanying physiological sensations and distressing emotions which the thoughts evoke. Interoceptive exposure is employed to expose an individual to uncomfortable bodily sensations which often correspond with intense anxiety and/or panic.  In vivo exposure is implemented to expose a patient to their feared stimulus in real life; this form of exposure is most commonly used to treat specific phobias and produces robustly successful outcomes (Choy et al., 2007; MacPhee & Andrews, 2003). For example, if an individual has a spider phobia, then imaginal exposure may be used to guide the person through imagining in detail a spider crawling on his or her arm, interoceptive exposure may be used to trigger the sensation of one’s heart racing, and in vivo exposure could entail actually looking at, or even holding a spider in real life. These three types of exposure can be used in single or multisession phobia treatment therapy.  Exposure exercises are employed in a graduated manner with the goal of desensitizing the client to the cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral distress they have learned to experience when triggered by the phobic stimulus.

Prior to your sessions, it may be helpful to make note of any symptoms you experience in relation to the specified phobia. For instance, consider categorizing symptoms into the following four domains: cognitive symptoms (e.g., worries/fears or catastrophic beliefs held regarding the phobia), emotional symptoms (e.g., emotions experienced in relation to the phobia such as anxiety, depression, defeat, disappointment, shame, embarrassment, etc.), behavioral symptoms (e.g., maladaptive behaviors you engage in to avoid/escape facing the phobic situation such as using substances, excessively shopping, canceling plans with loved ones, etc.), and physiological symptoms (e.g., distressing bodily sensations like heart racing/palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, lump in the throat feeling, muscular tension, etc.).  In addition to your experienced symptoms, it may be helpful to jot down any particular triggers you experience which activate the identified cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and/or physiological symptoms of distress. Once in your session, be sure to share with Dr. Tomassetti what symptoms and triggers you noted.  Doing so will help her gain a thorough understanding of your experiences, and thereby individualize treatment to target your specific concerns. 

Dr. Tomassetti welcomes any and all questions.  She encourages her clients to not only ask questions during the intake appointment, but to also jot down any questions that come to mind between sessions.  Some questions that may be helpful to have answered include, “What are the common challenges faced by those going through phobia treatment therapy?”; “Do you recommend any self-help books or resources related to my specific phobia which could serve as an adjunct to phobia treatment therapy?”; “How can I explain to my trusted loved ones what I’m going through and why I am seeking treatment?”