Treatments for agoraphobia are many and varied, but how effective are they?

Modern treatments for agoraphobia enjoy a far higher success rate than traditional methods, but to understand why, let us have a look at what is available.

The most commonly used treatments for agoraphobia are without doubt prescription drugs, the most familiar of which are; Tri-cyclic antidepressants (TCAs) such as Buspirone. SSRIs, such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, or anti-anxiety agents, such as Ativan and Klonopin

The main issue with using medications as treatments for agoraphobia however is that people suffering from agoraphobia and severe anxiety disorders, often experience particularly strong and negative side effects to medication. This is partly because many of the people with general anxiety disorder, or in fact any of the panic disorders, are often hypersensitive to chemicals. Also medication targets the symptoms rather than the cause of the condition and as such when successful limit anxiety and panic attacks.

Other traditional treatments for agoraphobia include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which until recently was the treatment of choice worldwide for treating Anxiety disorders such as Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder. However, CBT has a major disadvantage in that part of the treatment involves ‘Graded Exposure’ which entails confronting your fears head on, all be it slowly and gradually in a staged approach. Many people suffering agoraphobia find this intolerable and is the main reason for CBT’s limited success.

Nowadays, treatments for agoraphobia have much higher success rates and do not involve graded exposure. Originally developed as a phobia treatment, Thought Field Therapy (TFT) has enjoyed phenomenal success in all sorts of areas of mental health including treatments for agoraphobia. When blended with Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) as pioneered by BeOnForm, TFT is unbeatable. Success rates as high as 95% are regularly achieved by BeOnForm’s head therapist Lloyd Watkins, testimony to the methods efficacy.

The TFT, NLP blend used by BeOnForm targets the root cause of agoraphobia by dealing with the underlying causes rather than limiting the symptoms. For this reason the effects of agoraphobia are eradicated rather than reduced, giving a far more effective and satisfying long term resolution.