My name is Mark Pfeffer M.S., Director of the Panic / Anxiety Recovery Center of Chicago (IES: Emeto-Therapist). I will be appearing on a Discovery Health Channel program “My Strange Phobia”. One of my clients Gaby an IES member (gcepeda), will be featured about her emetophobia. Three others with different phobias, are also featured.
“My Strange Phobia”
Friday December 10, 2010 @ 8PM CST
Discovery Health Channel (Check your local listing)
It will also air:
12-10 @10PM, 12-12 @1PM. 12-13 @ 11AM, 12-15 @ 7PM and 12-16 @ 12:00AM
Here are some links to videos as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-oeLxHQec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqErb...eature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFedi...eature=related
The treatment approach is use is called Exposure Response Prevention (ETP) a version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT. This approach involves facing feared situations in a planned, direct way. While CBT and ERP is not for everyone, I’ve fount it to be effective for emetophobia and other anxiety disorders.
On the show, I seek out increasingly challenging situations to help Gaby learn to be un-afraid. For some it is difficult to understand how this can help someone “habituate” to the fear. But for many, it does. While no one vomits nor is there real vomit shown, many of the scenes may be difficult for some to watch.
As many are sensitive even seeing someone else confronting their fear, I recommend taping the episode and watch it on your terms, in control with remote. I also recommend watching with someone or a group of people who understand and support you.
I plan to start a treatment group with onsite and online options in 2011. Gabby is still working with me, as her recovery is still in progress. Feel free to contact Gaby at her IES address “gcepeda”.
My goal when I agreed to do the show was to help Gaby, provide hope to those who suffer from emetophobia and contribute to public education about this misunderstood disorder. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] instead of my IES address. I would appreciate any comments or questions after the airing.
Special thanks to Rich who helped me navigate and post this announcement.