Psychotherapy High Wycombe Psychotherapy High Wycombe - Last updated 07 January 2026

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DSM-IV: Specific Phobia

Individuals suffering from this Anxiety Disorder experience phobia or unreasonable fear or anxiety in connection with exposure to specific objects or situations and because of this avoid them whenever possible.

Examples include: claustrophobia (small spaces), acrophobia (heights), andarachnophobia (spiders).

Diagnostic criteria for 300.29 Specific Phobia

A. Marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation (e.g. flying, heights, animals, receiving an injection, seeing blood).

B. Exposure to the phobic stimulus almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response, which may take the form of a situationally bound or situationally predisposed Panic Attack.
Note: In children, the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or clinging.

C. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children, this feature may be absent.

D. The phobic situation(s) is avoided or else is endured with intense anxiety or distress.

E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared situation(s) interferes significantly with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress about having the phobia.

F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.

G. The anxiety, Panic Attacks, or phobic avoidance associated with the specific object or situation are not better accounted for by another mental disorder, such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (e.g. fear of dirt in someone with an obsession about contamination), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (e.g. avoidance of stimuli associated with a severe stressor), Separation Anxiety Disorder (e.g. avoidance of school), Social Phobia (e.g. avoidance of social situations because of fear of embarrassment), Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia, or Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder.

Specify type:
Animal Type
Natural Environment Type (e.g. heights, storms, water)
Blood-Injection-Injury Type
Situational Type (e.g. airplanes, elevators, enclosed places)
Other Type (e.g. phobic avoidance of situations that may lead to choking, vomiting, or contracting an illness; in children, avoidance of loud sounds or costumed characters)

Based on the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition APA Also: simple phobia

The online Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists most of the major psychological disorders and illnesses and lists the criteria that must be fulfilled in order for a diagnosis to be made. This resource is not a substitute for proper professional psychiatric diagnosis.