Patient History: A 20-year-old woman comes to see her general practitioner saying that a fear of spiders is causing her significant problems. When she sees a spider, she becomes fearful. She sweats, shakes and her heart rate increases. She needs to get out of the room very quickly and requires family members to come and remove the spider. She cannot re-enter the room until she is certain the spider is gone.
She cannot sleep in a room if she has seen a spider there and could not go on two school trips because of worries about encountering a spider. She has been offered a job in a hotel as an apprentice domestic supervisor. She is keen to take it but does not think she can do the job with her fears. She is also thinking of committing to a new relationship and up until now, her family has helped her solve her problems. She has not revealed the extent of her difficulties to her boyfriend.…
