Phobia Treatment
Specific Phobia Treatment in Newport Beach, CA
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC treats specific phobias — needles and blood, heights, driving and freeways, enclosed spaces and MRI scanners, animals, storms, vomiting and choking — in Newport Beach and virtually across California. She uses a structured five-session clinical hypnotherapy protocol combined with EMDR where the fear traces to a specific event, and has practiced since 1997.
Written and clinically reviewed by Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC
Psychotherapist · EMDR Certified · Certified Hypnotherapist · Author of Anxiety Annihilated · Practicing since 1997
Specific phobias treated
- Blood, injection and needle phobia (trypanophobia)
- Acrophobia — heights, balconies, bridges, glass elevators
- Driving and freeway phobia, including post-collision driving fear
- Claustrophobia, MRI and CT scanner anxiety
- Emetophobia — fear of vomiting; choking and swallowing phobia
- Animal phobias — dogs, snakes, spiders, insects
- Storms, thunder, water and swimming phobia
- Medical, hospital and injection-site avoidance
Why specific phobias respond quickly
A specific phobia is a learned alarm attached to a single category of trigger. The rest of your life may be entirely unaffected, which is what distinguishes it from generalised anxiety — and what makes it one of the most treatable presentations in psychotherapy.
Because the alarm was learned, it can be re-learned. The intervention works at the level where the association is stored rather than arguing with it logically, which is why reassurance from other people has never switched it off.
The five-session protocol
As both a licensed psychotherapist and a certified clinical hypnotherapist, Arolyn developed a structured five-session technique for specific phobias. The first session assesses the fear, its origin and how much of your life it currently restricts. The middle sessions combine hypnotic intervention with graded imagined and, where appropriate, real-world exposure. The final session consolidates the new response and gives you a self-directed tool for the future.
Not every phobia resolves in five sessions. Phobias layered on top of trauma, panic disorder or decades of avoidance take longer. Most clients know within two sessions whether the approach is working for them.
When a phobia has a medical deadline
Needle phobia before a procedure, claustrophobia before an MRI, driving phobia before a return to work: these arrive with dates attached. Mention the deadline when you book so the work can be sequenced around it. Treatment aims to get you through the necessary procedure without sedation-level distress.
Appointments are at 2333 E Coast Highway #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625 — serving Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach and Orange County — or by secure video anywhere in California.
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 #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Creator of The A.R.O.L.Y.N. Method™, the framework behind this work.
Frequently asked questions
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Ready to take the first step?
In-person appointments at 2333 E Coast Highway #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625, and secure video sessions anywhere in California. Mon–Wed 11am–8pm, Thu 11am–2pm (by appointment only).