Integrating Hypnosis with Other Therapies for Treating Specific Phobias: A Case Series.
There is a high prevalence of anxiety disorders including specific phobias and panic disorder in the United States and Europe. A variety of therapeutic modalities including pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, systematic desensitization, hypnosis, in vivo exposure, and virtual reality exposure therapy have been applied. No one modality has been entirely successful. There has been only a limited attempt to combine psychological therapies in the treatment of specific phobias and panic disorder and what has been done has been primarily with systematic desensitization or cognitive behavioral therapy along with hypnotherapy. I present two cases of multiple specific phobias that were successfully treated with hypnotherapy combined with virtual reality exposure therapy or in vivo exposure therapy. The rationale for this integrative therapy and the neurobiological constructs are considered.
['Hirsch|Joseph A|JA|']
D000328:Adult D006801:Humans D006990:Hypnosis D007171:Implosive Therapy D016584:Panic Disorder D000072861:Phobia, Social D010698:Phobic Disorders D063367:Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
hypnosis specific phobia panic disorder virtual reality exposure therapy acrophobia integrative psychotherapy social phobia vestibular-positional disorder