Cognitive-Behavior Therapy
As the superior form of treatment for people with flight anxiety, CBT bears an impressive success rate; this is apparent through the high percentage of people who improve following therapy, their degree of improvement, and CBT’s long-term effects as revealed in follow-up studies. But what is it that makes this treatment so efficient? The main component of phobia therapy is exposure to the cause of the fear, which for aviophobia sufferers may include anxiety over enclosed places, fear of heights, fear of suffocation, fear of a panic attack, and fear of vomiting or fainting. While exposure is a crucial component of therapy for aviophobia, it is difficult and expensive. However; without exposure to the feared flight situation, therapy is not successful. The virtual reality program employed by our lab implements the CBT treatment, and ensures you that the behavioral component is comprised of controlled exposure to the cause of fear. Instead of asking you to try to imagine you are on board a flight, you are exposed to a simulated environment by sitting in an airplane chair and using a helmet that provides a 3D experience of all stages of flying.
Since exposure is controlled, you will never be overwhelmed by anxiety during the course of this CBT process. As a result, you will experience a reduction in anxiety, as the anticipated catastrophic events do not occur, allowing you to practice both behavioral and cognitive coping skills that develop further during therapy. This therapy challenges your irrational thoughts and perceptions about flying, helping you to develop cognitive skills, and hence alleviates thoughts of being unable to adequately cope with the situation.
Therapy is conducted in 10 sessions and consists of three stages: 1. Psycho-education about flight phobia; 2. Work on the cognitive component of the fear through cognitive therapy which helps you build a rational view of flying, and 3. Virtual Reality Exposure to the flight. During this stage you will sit on an airline seat (donated by Arkia), and undergo the complete flying experience. First, you get comfortable in the seat, then you hear the safety instructions from the flight attendant, taxiing down the runway, takeoff, the flight itself (including some turbulence), and landing safely. Exposure is done in a graduated fashion –depending on the level of fear you experience when flying, and each step is repeated until it ceases to evoke fear, and only then you experience the next step. Thus, you are able to go through the process step by step at a pace that suits you. We do not need to jump to the next stage in experiencing the flight until the your level of anxiety has already been significantly lowered at the earlier stages.
Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires before, after completion of therapy and at follow-up. Therefore, we are offering therapy at reduced rates. Therapy consists of 10 sessions. Should you require additional sessions, they are available. To apply for treatment, contact M. P. Safir: marilyn.safir@gmail.com or H. S. Wallach: helenwa@yahoo.com. You may also telephone 04-8249316 and leave a message with your name and phone number.
Treatment for other anxiety problems, or for depression, is not currently offered through our lab. However, therapy is offered by our staff in their private clinics. You may contact: Dr. Helene Wallach (Haifa or Karmiel) at 04-9884185 or e-mail: helenwa@yahoo.com; Dr. Michael Zivor (Binyamina) at 054-6195737 or e-mail: mzivor@gmail.com. For reduced rates in Haifa: Or Perry at 054-9983616 or e-mail: orhadas@012.net.il or Michal Horesh at 054-2885666 or e-mail: michalhoresh@gmail.com .
A new group for the treatment of social phobia is being offered by two members of our staff in Haifa on Vitkin street. For more details contact: Or Perry at 054-9983616 or e-mail: orhadas@012.net.il or Michal Horesh at 054-2885666 or e-mail: michalhoresh@gmail.com .