Specific Phobias Treatment

Specific Phobias Treatment in Greenwich, Darien, Westport, Westchester, and Surrounding Areas in Connecticut and New York.

What are specific phobias?

Specific phobias involve fear of certain objects or situations that is very intense and affect our day-to-day lives. These objects/situations are often avoided or endured with great anxiety. Specific phobias can include fear of certain animals (e.g., dogs, snakes, spiders, bees), natural environments (e.g., heights, water), situations (e.g., flying, elevators, heights), or medical treatments (e.g., fear of shots, blood).

How do you treat specific phobias? 

We offer exposure therapy to treat specific phobias. We will work with you to gradually and systematically confront feared objects of situations that you have been avoiding or endured with significant distress. We will work with you to create an individually-tailored fear hierarchy that starts with situations that are only slightly anxiety-provoking and build up from there. We often first do many imaginal exposures (vividly imaging the phobic object) before proceeding to in-vivo  exposures (directly facing the phobic object). We will also work with you to test distorted thoughts related to the phobic object (e.g., the snake will attack me, I will crash, I will fall). 

What kind of experience do you have in treating phobias? 

Dr. Sala has received training and supervision in exposure therapy to treat phobias by some of the leading experts in anxiety disorders in the country. She has completed training in exposure therapy at UCLA. She has also worked with many individuals with a variety of phobias throughout her career. Please contact her to learn more about her experience with exposure therapy.