Agoraphobia Treatment Options

Agoraphobia Treatment – Part 1: Behavioral Therapy

Behavior therapy focuses entirely on changing behavior. In behavior therapy a person with agoraphobia learns to face feared situations instead of avoid them. This can be done in small steps (as in systematic desensitization) or all at once (as in flooding). Behavior therapy for agoraphobia does not address root causes. Instead it offers techniques to reduce symptoms of panic and anxiety.

Behavior therapy for agoraphobia exists in three main forms:

1) Cue-controlled Relaxation: Learning to achieve a state of complete relaxation any time, anywhere, and on cue. Cue-controlled relaxation is foundational to behavior therapy because it is used to stop panic or anxiety symptoms when practicing both systematic desensitization and flooding.

2) Systematic Desensitization: Using a step-by-step technique to re-condition yourself to experience relaxation and energy in previously feared settings. This can be practiced in real life (sometimes called in vivo or graded exposure) or in your imagination through visualization.

3) Flooding: Overcoming your fear by forcing yourself to stay in the feared situation or place long enough for the fear to go away.