Driving Phobia
Driving Phobia & Fear of Driving Therapy in Newport Beach, CA
Freeway, bridge and highway anxiety · EMDR • Clinical Hypnotherapy • CBT • Somatic Approaches
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC, CHT is a Newport Beach psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, phobias and trauma, including fear of driving. Practicing since 1997, she is a Certified EMDR Therapist and Certified Hypnotherapist serving Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and surrounding Orange County communities.
Written and clinically reviewed by Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC
Psychotherapist · EMDR Certified · Certified Hypnotherapist · Author of Anxiety Annihilated · Practicing since 1997
When driving starts shrinking your world
Fear of driving rarely stays contained. It often begins with one route, one merge or one bridge — and gradually the list of roads you avoid grows.
Some people stop driving freeways. Others avoid left turns, tunnels, bridges, night driving or driving alone. Some stop driving altogether and rely on others to get where they need to go.
You may know your reaction is stronger than the actual risk, and your body may still respond with intense anxiety the moment you get behind the wheel.
Common forms of driving anxiety
Driving fear can take many specific forms, including:
- Freeway and highway anxiety
- Fear of merging or changing lanes
- Fear of bridges, overpasses or tunnels
- Fear of driving alone or far from home
- Fear of panicking while driving and not being able to pull over
- Fear of driving after a car accident
- Fear of losing control of the vehicle
- Anxiety as a passenger rather than a driver
- Avoidance of night driving, rain or heavy traffic
Driving fear after a car accident
For many people, fear of driving is connected to a specific event: a collision, a near miss, a frightening ride as a passenger, or watching something happen to someone else.
When the fear is associated with a distressing memory, treatment can address both the memory and the current triggers rather than only the avoidance behavior.
This is where EMDR is often clinically relevant. Arolyn has been EMDR certified since 2001 and may incorporate it when appropriate.
When driving anxiety is really panic anxiety
For some clients, the feared event isn't a crash — it's the panic response itself. The concern becomes: what if I panic in traffic, on a bridge, or somewhere I can't stop?
Treatment can address the fear of the anxiety response as directly as the fear of driving, so the body's alarm signals stop dictating which roads are available to you.
A focused approach to driving phobia
Arolyn has developed a structured five-session phobia protocol based on her clinical experience treating fears and phobias. Treatment is individualized and may incorporate EMDR when driving fear is associated with an accident or other distressing experience; clinical hypnotherapy, used to help clients practice focused attention, relaxation and therapeutic responses to driving-related triggers; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, to identify catastrophic predictions and avoidance patterns; somatic techniques, to recognize and respond differently to the physical fear response; solution-focused therapy, organized around the practical goal of driving where you need to go; and The A.R.O.L.Y.N. Method™, Arolyn's framework for addressing anxiety, phobias and trauma.
Five sessions describe the structure of Arolyn's focused protocol and do not guarantee that every client's driving phobia will resolve in five sessions. Treatment length and outcomes vary.
The A.R.O.L.Y.N. Method™ for driving phobia
- A — Assess: identify exactly which driving situations trigger fear and what you predict will happen.
- R — Reframe: examine the thoughts and interpretations that reinforce the fear.
- O — Observe: build awareness of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and avoidance behaviors.
- L — Learn: develop therapeutic strategies for responding differently behind the wheel.
- Y — Yield: allow a new response instead of automatically following the established fear pattern.
- N — Normalize: practice and integrate healthier responses so driving becomes manageable again.
About Arolyn Burns
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC, CHT is a California licensed psychotherapist who has practiced since 1997, specializing in anxiety, phobias, trauma and chronic pain.
She is a Certified EMDR Therapist and Certified Hypnotherapist, the author of Anxiety Annihilated and creator of The A.R.O.L.Y.N. Method™. Her private practice serves clients in Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and surrounding Orange County communities.
Get your routes back
Driving fear tends to grow when it isn't addressed — and it responds to focused treatment.
Schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation with Arolyn Burns.
Who you would be working with
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC is a Newport Beach psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, phobias, trauma and chronic pain. She provides EMDR therapy and clinical hypnotherapy and has been practicing since 1997.
- CA LMFT #MFC40173, LPCC #LPC54
- M.A. Clinical Psychology, Azusa Pacific University
- 10× Best Newport Beach Therapist
- 2333 E Coast Highway, Suite C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Creator of The A.R.O.L.Y.N. Method™, the framework behind this work.
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In-person appointments at 2333 E Coast Highway, Suite C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625, and secure video sessions anywhere in California. Mon–Wed 11am–8pm, Thu 11am–2pm (by appointment only).