The instinctive reaction of an arachnophobe on encountering a spider is to flee, with some alacrity. But researchers at the University of Tasmania believe the best way to overcome fear is to confront it and they have developed an online programme - believed to be the first of its kind
- to help sufferers.
The FearDrop website features images of spiders: innocuous ones at first, then more scary ones. The aim of this "graded exposure", a common psychological technique, is to expose people to the object of their trepidation gradually so their fear evaporates.
If it all proves too much, patients can make an image disappear by stopping their mouse pointer over it. During each stage, they are asked to rate their level of anxiety on a scale of 0 to 100. They receive feedback and are encouraged to reduce their anxiety to below 20 before proceeding.
The programme will be widened to help people afraid of snakes, dogs, cats, mice, birds and frogs.
One of the researchers, Allison Matthews, said that up to one-tenth of adults suffered from some phobia, but many did not seek treatment because it was too expensive or too hard to access.
She said online treatments were "a cost effective, accessible and flexible way to treat a large proportion of the population ... People can do it in their own home. It's available 24/7."
When the website was first announced, there were fears that a huge volume of traffic might crash it. But Matthews said a fairly modest 800 people worldwide had logged on so far.
