Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Panic, Disorder with Aquaphobia
Dr. Shaunak A Ajinkya
We report a case of a 37 year old Indian media professional suffering from panic disorder
with phobia for drinking water and other liquids (aquaphobia) for the last 10 years. Despite
anti-anxiety medications and counselling, symptoms prevailed and affected his social
and professional life. He was thus referred for hypnotherapy. The patient underwent six
sessions of cognitive hypnotherapy. After successful completion of sessions he regularly
started drinking water and other liquids without any further episodes of panic. There
was also a remarkable improvement in his social and professional life. His anti-anxiety
medications were then slowly tapered and stopped. There were no relapses reported by
the patient even after six months of follow up. This case study deepens the confidence
and evidence for using cognitive hypnotherapy in the management of neurotic disorders.
Keywords: Aquaphobia, cognitive hypnotherapy, water phobia, panic disorder,
hypnotherapy
Volume 17, Number 2, Year 2015
