Mental health articles

While specifi c phobias (dogs, the dark, lifts) are the most common psychiatric disorder of childhood, probably only a third of these cause psychosocial impairment. Nevertheless, most are readily treatable by a behavioural nurse or psychologist using desensitisation and graded exposure to the feared stimulus. Without treatment, symptoms may be persistent. Other phobias, including social phobia, are more likely to cause additional impairment and usually need specialist treatment.

Tags: phobias