Phobic Disorders (Phobia)

Anxiety disorders in which the essential feature is persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that the individual feels compelled to avoid. The individual recognizes the fear as excessive or unreasonable.

Also Known As:

Networked: 1169 relevant articles (152 outcomes, 224 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Anxiety Disorders (Anxiety Disorder)
2.	Panic Disorder (Panic Attack)
3.	Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive)
4.	Separation Anxiety (Separation Anxiety Disorder)
5.	Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD)

Experts

1.	Stein, Murray B: 10 articles (02/2013 - 02/2002)
2.	Phillips, Katharine A: 9 articles (10/2013 - 05/2002)
3.	Birmaher, Boris: 7 articles (03/2015 - 04/2003)
4.	Davidson, Jonathan R T: 7 articles (06/2011 - 12/2002)
5.	Walkup, John T: 6 articles (03/2015 - 12/2008)
6.	Stein, Dan J: 6 articles (01/2015 - 02/2002)
7.	Jorm, Anthony F: 6 articles (06/2012 - 10/2004)
8.	Furmark, Tomas: 6 articles (11/2011 - 05/2002)
9.	Fredrikson, Mats: 6 articles (11/2011 - 05/2002)
10.	Sareen, Jitender: 6 articles (08/2011 - 05/2006)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Phobic Disorders:

1.	Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)IBA 02/01/2007 - "Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of serotonergic antidepres-sants, particularly the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), in the treatment of social phobia. " 11/01/1996 - "Several open trials suggest the efficacy of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in social phobia. " 06/01/1994 - "In this study we investigated the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in social phobia. " 12/01/2004 - "Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the current gold standard in the pharmacologic treatment of generalized social phobia. " 02/01/2004 - "Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the gold standard for the pharmacological treatment of generalized social phobia (GSP). "
2.	Paroxetine (Paxil)FDA LinkGeneric 09/01/1998 - "Paroxetine, the most thoroughly studied SSRI, has been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of generalized social phobia in a large-scale, placebo-controlled trial. " 08/01/2003 - "Treatment with paroxetine was associated with a significant improvement in standard social-phobia scores, although most patients remained symptomatic. " 10/01/2001 - "Subjects were 14 patients with generalized social phobia who were less than "very much improved" on the Clinical Global Impression scale after at least 10 weeks of treatment with a maximally tolerated dose of paroxetine. " 12/01/2002 - "Compared with placebo, paroxetine treatment significantly (P<.001) improved the symptoms of social anxiety as shown on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Social Phobia Inventory, Sheehan Disability Scale, Symptom Checklist-90 score, and EuroQol visual analogue scale, indicating decreased disability and increased well-being. " 08/01/1999 - "Paroxetine is an effective, well-tolerated treatment for patients with social phobia."
3.	Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor)IBA 06/01/1994 - "Previous studies have shown selective and nonselective monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) to be effective in the treatment of social phobia. " 12/01/2002 - "The efficacy of irreversible and reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) in the treatment of social phobia (SP) is well established. " 01/01/1999 - "Efficacy in social phobia was reported with the MAOIs and this led to the investigation of reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase-A (RIMA) which offer a safer alternative. " 04/01/1992 - "Overall, the findings support the responsivity of social phobia to monoamine oxidase inhibitors." 07/01/1984 - "Delineation of anxiety and phobic disorders responsive to monoamine oxidase inhibitors: implications for classification."
4.	BenzodiazepinesIBA 08/01/2004 - "In both the latter disorders, benzodiazepines interfere with exposure and generally are best avoided, although temporary use, with safeguards, can sometimes be helpful for a specific phobia. " 11/01/1999 - "Results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that the absence of an anxiolytic response to benzodiazepines in plus-maze-experienced subjects reflects the acquisition of an open arm phobia during trial 1." 06/01/1994 - "The authors review the results of studies concerning the use of high-potency benzodiazepines in the treatment of social phobia. " 01/01/2011 - "Conversely, number and presence of generalized anxiety symptoms and presence of social phobia symptoms predicted current non-prescribed benzodiazepine and alcohol use, respectively. " 10/01/2000 - "Many now regard SSRIs as the drugs of choice in social phobia because of their effectiveness and because they avoid the problems of treatment with benzodiazepines or classical MAOIs."
5.	Moclobemide (Arima)IBA 09/01/1997 - "In this open, prospective, structured, naturalistic study of the efficacy of long-term treatment in social phobia 93 consecutive outpatients suffering from severe generalized or circumscribed social phobia (median Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale score 83) and a high degree of concomitant psychiatric disease were administered treatment with moclobemide (712 +/- 75 mg/day at steady state). " 01/01/2001 - "Moclobemide produced a statistically significant, but clinically modest, degree of improvement in social phobia symptoms. " 01/01/1999 - "The efficacy of moclobemide has been shown in social phobia and the effect is more clear cut in patients with more severe symptoms. " 01/01/1994 - "Moclobemide was effective in both major components of social phobia (fear and avoidance). " 06/01/1996 - "The efficacy of moclobemide in social phobia has been demonstrated in short-term treatment for up to 12 weeks in three placebo-controlled studies. "
6.	Sertraline (Zoloft)FDA LinkGeneric 12/01/2000 - "Fifty adult outpatients with generalized social phobia who were rated much or very much improved on the Clinical Global Impression Scale of Improvement (CGI-I) after 20 weeks of sertraline treatment (50-200 mg/day) were randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to either continue double-blind treatment with sertraline or immediately switch to placebo for another 24 weeks. " 06/01/2015 - "The results indicated that short-term dynamic psychotherapy sertraline are effective in decreasing social phobia symptoms and were superior to control group." 07/01/2001 - "Sertraline is an effective treatment for generalised social phobia. " 02/01/2001 - "Sertraline is an effective treatment for patients with generalized social phobia." 12/01/2000 - "Sertraline was effective in preventing relapse of generalized social phobia. "
7.	Fluoxetine (Prozac)FDA LinkGeneric 09/01/2011 - "In a randomized trial for children with social phobia (SP), Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children (SET-C; a treatment consisting of exposure and social skills training) and fluoxetine were more effective than pill placebo in reducing social distress and behavioral avoidance, but only SET-C demonstrated significantly improved overall social skill and social competence. " 08/01/2004 - "Cognitive therapy is more effective than fluoxetine in people with generalised social phobia." 01/01/1993 - "These findings suggest that fluoxetine may be effective in the treatment of social phobia. " 06/01/2002 - "The objective of the study was to examine the efficacy of fluoxetine in social phobia. " 12/01/2007 - "To determine the efficacy of fluoxetine, pill placebo, and Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children (SET-C) for children and adolescents with social phobia. "
8.	Fluvoxamine (Luvox)FDA LinkGeneric 11/01/1999 - "Randomized clinical trials are needed to further demonstrate the efficacy of fluvoxamine in the treatment of social phobia." 11/01/1999 - "An open label trial of fluvoxamine was conducted to evaluate its efficacy and safety in the treatment of social phobia (DSM-III-R) and to assess physiological changes that may accompany treatment. " 06/01/1994 - "Psychopharmacological treatment of social phobia; a double blind placebo controlled study with fluvoxamine." 07/01/2011 - "Based on the diagnosis of PDDNOS complicated by SAD, fluvoxamine therapy was initiated, which resulted in alleviation of the phobia against his own glance. " 11/01/1999 - "Evaluation of the efficacy, safety and physiological effects of fluvoxamine in social phobia."
9.	Phenelzine (Nardil)FDA Link 11/01/1992 - "Four (80%) of 5 patients with comorbid generalized social phobia receiving phenelzine had marked improvement of OCD symptoms. " 01/01/2003 - "Phenelzine is effective in social phobia, and no treatment has been shown to be superior to phenelzine. " 01/01/2003 - "Phenelzine appears to be effective in treating social phobia that has been unresponsive to other treatments. " 10/01/1999 - "Cognitive behavioral group therapy and phenelzine both effective in social phobia." 01/01/1990 - "Phenelzine appeared to be a particularly effective treatment for the generalized form of social phobia. "
10.	Citalopram (Escitalopram)FDA Link 04/01/1998 - "However, the efficacy of citalopram, the most selective of the SSRIs, in social phobia has not been well documented. " 01/01/1996 - "Our very preliminary results suggest that citalopram may be effective in school phobia related to PD. " 04/01/1998 - "Citalopram appears to be effective in the treatment of social phobia. " 03/01/2008 - "Escitalopram may hold promise as a treatment for specific phobia and larger randomized controlled trials are needed." 03/01/2008 - "Escitalopram in specific phobia: results of a placebo-controlled pilot trial."

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Drug Therapy (Chemotherapy) 03/01/1986 - "His phobia was treated successfully with pharmacotherapy, behavior therapy, and psychotherapy. " 07/01/2004 - "The article presents main therapeutic methods--psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy applied to children with phobia and difficulties with estimating efficacy of the particular therapy in this group of patients. " 09/01/1999 - "Pharmacotherapy is generally not considered to be effective in specific phobias, and is therefore not used for this indication. " 01/01/2001 - "The purposes of this article are to (1) enumerate and describe the varieties of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that have been applied to the treatment of social phobia, (2) provide a meta-analytic overview of the efficacy of these approaches, (3) examine the relative utility of CBT versus that of pharmacotherapy for social phobia, (4) examine the potential utility of multidisciplinary approaches to treatment, and (5) discuss possible future directions in the development of psychotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of social phobia, including the use of computers as adjunctive tools." 04/01/2013 - "Nonetheless, there are few studies on the psychobiology and pharmacotherapy of specific phobias. "
2.	Aftercare (After-Treatment) 11/01/2014 - "Compared to ATC+OST, the ATP+OST condition produced (a) significantly greater reductions in children's danger expectancies about their feared situations/object during the OST and at three-month follow-up, and (b) significantly improved attention bias towards positive stimuli at post-treatment, which in turn, predicted a lower level of clinician-rated phobia diagnostic severity three-months after treatment. " 07/01/2001 - "Seventy-five percent of patients improved after treatment independent of the kind of therapy, the occurrence of comorbid disorders and the type of social phobia." 12/01/1995 - "Exposure has fared well as a treatment for social phobia and, in every case, within-group analyses show that patients have improved after treatment. " 04/01/2010 - "This study examined the relation between parent-child reporting discrepancies on measures of child social phobia symptoms, administered before and after treatment for social phobia. " 05/01/1996 - "The purpose of this study was to investigate possible predictors of treatment outcome in specific phobia at 1 week after treatment, and at I year follow-up. "
3.	Injections 01/01/1996 - "According to expectation, participant modelling of injections was effective in eliminating the fear of injections in a patient of the second type of injection phobia. " 04/01/2005 - "This small, randomized, controlled trial tested the efficacy of a six-session nurse-administered programme to teach self-injection to patients with MS, who, due to anxiety or phobia, were unable to self-inject their injectable medications. " 01/01/2015 - "Needle phobia was defined as a score ≥6 for fear of self-testing (FST), fear of injections (FI), and fear of infusion-site changes (FISC). " 08/01/2013 - "BII-phobia participants with diphasic patterns across multiple parameters showed more fear of injections and blood draws, reported the strongest physical symptoms during the surgery film, and showed the strongest tendency to hyperventilate. " 07/01/2013 - "While systematic desensitization is the most common therapeutic method for treating specific phobias such as fear of dental injections, lack of access to trained therapists, as well as dentists' lack of training and time in providing such a therapy, means that most fearful individuals are not able to receive the therapy needed to be able to receive necessary dental treatment. "
4.	Hypnosis (Mesmerism) 04/01/2014 - "This case study details how hypnosis aided fixed role therapy (HAFRT) was employed in the successful treatment of a case of social phobia with a history of refractory outcomes to previous therapy trials. " 01/01/2001 - "Many studies have shown the effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of phobias, but no studies have directly compared hypnosis to EMDR. " 10/01/1968 - "Hypnosis and desinsitization for Phobias: a controlled prospective trial." 01/01/2015 - "Systematic follow-up data are reported for 178 consecutive flying phobia patients treated with a single 45-minute session involving hypnosis and a problem restructuring strategy. " 04/01/2014 - "Hypnosis aided fixed role therapy for social phobia: a case report."
5.	Sclerotherapy 12/01/2008 - "This technology, driven by consumer demand, has been effective in treating vessels that are refractory to sclerotherapy treatment, vessels that arise from telangiectatic matting, and in patients who experience a phobia to needles. " 03/01/2014 - "However, there may be some specific situations, where sclerotherapy is contraindicated such as needle phobia, allergy to certain sclerosing agents, and the presence of vessels smaller than the diameter of a 30-gauge needle (including telangiectatic matting). " 03/01/2015 - "The 1064-nm long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser is associated with more pain and is suitable especially in case of needle phobia, allergy to sclerosants and in presence of small veins with telangiectatic matting, while sclerotherapy can also treat the feeder veins."