Phobias Counseling
Honolulu, Hilo and Hawaii Telehealth
You know it does not make sense. That is the part people do not understand. You know the plane is safe, or the needle is quick, or the dog is friendly. Knowing has never once made the fear smaller.
A phobia is not a lack of information. It is a body that has learned, somewhere along the way, that a specific thing means danger, and now responds to that thing before your thinking mind gets a vote. Pounding heart, sweating, the urge to get out. Or, for a lot of people, just quietly building a life that routes around the thing so the fear never has to fire.
Is this normal? Phobias are among the most common anxiety conditions there are. They are also among the most treatable.
The cost of routing around it
For some people the fear is inconvenient. For others it is running the show. Turning down a job because it means flying. Skipping medical care because of needles. Not driving the Saddle Road, so Kona is off the map. Not leaving the house at all, which is where agoraphobia quietly takes over.
In Hawaiʻi the cost of avoidance is often bigger than it looks, because so much of life here means a drive, a flight, or a boat. A fear that keeps you off a plane keeps you on one island.
What we do
We do not throw you at the thing you fear. We help your body relearn, step by manageable step, that it is safe. That process is called graded exposure, and it is the one approach for phobias that reliably works. Our counselors draw on cognitive behavioral therapy and adjust every step to what you are ready for. Nothing happens without your say. Most people are surprised how far they get once the first steps feel possible.
This page is for you if
You have a specific fear that you know is out of proportion and cannot talk yourself out of
You avoid situations, places, or activities to keep from triggering it
The avoidance is costing you something real: work, travel, medical care, time with family
You have been embarrassed to tell anyone how much it affects you
You have tried to just push through and it made things worse
How to reach us
Call (808) 640-6252 or send a message through our contact form. We see clients at our Hilo office, our Honolulu office, and by telehealth anywhere in Hawaiʻi.
We are in network with HMSA, HMSA QUEST, HMAA, UHA, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
