Diving and Treatment of Aquaphobia in Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Case Study

Aquaphobia is a persistent and abnormal fear of water. It’s a specific phobia that involves a level of fear that is beyond the patient’s control or that may interfere with daily life. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, specific phobias normally develop in childhood. Approximately 19.2 million American adults suffer from some type of specific phobia. The goal of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) is to regain control of reactions to stress and stimuli, thus reducing the feeling of helplessness that often accompanies anxiety disorders. CBT works on the principle that the thoughts that produce and maintain anxiety can be recognized and altered using various techniques that change behavioural responses and eliminate the anxiety reaction.