Empowering individuals to overcome OCD, anxiety, phobias and panic
Dr Shelley Obst Clinical Psychologist
Empowering individuals to overcome OCD, anxiety, phobias and panic
Dr Shelley Obst Clinical Psychologist
Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety, where the person experiences fear, panic or anxiety often about being in public spaces.
People who experience agoraphobia will often have difficulty leaving their home or space where they feel safe. Commonly, people with agoraphobia experience fear about having a panic attack while out. Because of this, the individual will continue to withdraw, becoming socially isolated and eventually may become housebound or only have a few safe places they can venture out to, often needing another person to accompany them.
At SO Psychology, we can provide a comprehensive assessment and diagnosis if you are experiencing symptoms of agoraphobia.
Common symptoms might look like:
· Feeling scared or anxious to leave the house or safe environment
· Anxiety or even feelings of panic if you are away from home or a safe environment
· Fear or anxiety using public transportation
· Fear or anxiety in open spaces
· Fear or anxiety in enclosed spaces such as shopping centres
· Needing to go out with someone and / or having a plan of escape
· Panic symptoms or a panic attack with agoraphobia might look like - o Sweating
o Breathlessness
o Awareness of heart beating fast
o Nausea
o Dizziness
Often we notice a drop in our mood as well when we experience these symptom. It can be hard to stay motivated, you might feel a bit more irritable and you might also lose your self-confidence about your ability to cope.
Treatment is often highly effective for individuals with agoraphobia. Each person is different however, so there is no magic number on how many sessions it might take. However, at SO Psychology, we use a combination of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and exposure treatment for agoraphobia.
The CBT component of treatment will focus on identifying your thought patterns around the feared situations. We will then work on challenging some of those thinking patterns. The exposure treatment will be gradual, and gentle. Shelley will work with you both in and out of sessions, using imaginal, interoceptive (focusing on the bodily sensations that come up with panic) and situational exposures to confront your fears.
We work together on creating a plan, and ensuring we go at a pace that works for you.
We understand it might be difficult to even make it into our consulting rooms for a session. We do offer telehealth sessions, so you can still link in for specialised assessment and treatment for your symptoms. Treatment for agoraphobia can be provided in either setting, sometimes with exposures being more effective when you are at home!
To find out more about receiving support for agoraphobia symptoms, Shelley welcomes you to get in touch today for a free 15 minute phone consultation by using the contact and book form.