There are two types of phobia

The Common phobias (simple or specific phobias) are more likely to develop through childhood often as a result of a past experience that was traumatic in some way and wasn’t dealt with appropriately; These can include issues like animal phobias such as fears of spiders, dogs or birds. Others may experience environmental phobias such as a fear of heights or fear of enclosed spaces and some will have specific phobias around certain situations These may be related to a fear of going to the dentists, a fear of injections or a fear of driving. Often clients understand that their fears are irrational and are often embarrassed about them but just can’t do anything about it.

The second type are often described as Complex phobias which are more likely to develop as an adult and tend to be ones which affect people in their everyday life. Social anxiety phobias can lead to persistent and intense feelings of fear of being in situations where the person feels under scrutiny from others. Common situations can be speaking of performing in public, fear around job interviews or presentations, talking to groups of strangers, confidence in the workplace, eating and drinking in front of others.