Many children’s fears are natural and tend to develop at specific ages. For example, many children have a fear of the dark and have trouble sleeping at night but this fear generally passes with time as they develop and ‘grow out of it’. However, sometimes children experience intense fear that does not pass with time and begins to affect the child’s normal development and daily functioning.
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder where there is an intense fear of a specific situation or object that in reality poses little or no actual danger. A common phobia in children is a phobia of animals, such as snakes, spiders, insects/bugs, rodents, and dogs.
Children with a phobia of bugs and spiders will attempt to avoid most or all situations where there is a high chance of finding bugs or spiders or where they have come across these creatures in the past (e.g. in the garden, at the park, and specific rooms of the house). This fear may negatively affect their development and daily functioning. The presence of, or even pictures of bugs or spiders, may generate great distress for the child, and they may seek constant reassurance through repetitive questioning about the whereabouts of the bug or spider, or their own safety.
What happens when a child has a phobia?
As with other phobias, a bug or spider phobia generally causes the child to experience symptoms associated with anxiety when they see bugs or spiders, including:
- Dizziness and light-headed
- Excessive sweating
- Racing, pounding heart
- Chest pain, tightness
- Shaking and trembling
- Hot and cold flushes
- Butterflies, a churning stomach
- Nausea and gastrointestinal distress
- Dry mouth, feeling of choking or difficulty in swallowing
- Freezing
- Running away
- Clinging to others
- Refusing to do usual activities
- Crying, screaming, or tantrums
- Avoiding situations where bugs and spiders may be present
When does a child need help for a bug or spider phobia?
When a child’s fear of bugs or spiders exceeds what is typical for their age and developmental level, is persistent, and interferes with regular developmental activities (e.g. going to friend’s houses) and their daily functioning (e.g. playing in the garden) a diagnosis of a ‘Specific phobia, Animals’ is usually considered and intervention is recommended.
Treatment for bug or spider phobias
As is the case for other anxiety disorders, research has demonstrated that Behavioural Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) are the most effective interventions for bug and spider phobias. Treatment often involves both the child and the parent(s) and includes the following components:
Education
Education about anxiety and phobias with both the child and parent(s). This aims to provide information about how anxiety works, identifying triggers and factors which might be maintaining the child’s fears and worries and what can be done to break the cycle.
Emotion coaching
Talking openly with the child about anxiety and other feelings and helping them understand their emotions as well as providing parent(s) or caregiver(s) with techniques and strategies about how to best respond to their child’s emotions/distress.
Behaviour management
Attempting to reinforce wanted behaviours and reduce unwanted behaviours through rewards and behaviour charts. Encouraging coping and brave behaviours as well as reinforcing coping efforts and ‘facing fear’ goals. Providing parent(s) or caregiver(s) strategies to assist in this process – e.g. putting limits on the child’s reassurance-seeking and modelling coping behaviours.
Thought challenging and self-talk
Depending upon the age of the child (i.e., generally from 7 or 8 years) therapy can also help children to identify worried thoughts that are increasing their fear of bugs or spiders. Strategies are taught that helps the child to challenge and unhelpful thoughts, using evidence and probability, and they are encouraged to adopt more realistic thoughts and positive self-talk, which in turn lead to lower levels of anxiety.
Exposure
This is the most important treatment component when overcoming a phobia of bugs or spiders. This technique involves helping children to gradually face their fear of bugs or spiders in a step-by-step approach. This involves exposing the child to situations that cause them to feel anxious in a hierarchical fashion – starting small and building up to more difficult tasks. When small realistic and achievable goals are set, children learn to sit with their anxiety and cope with it. They may also learn that their fears often do not come true or that they were not as bad as they had thought they were. Each step is practised frequently and consolidated before moving on to a more difficult step.
If you would like to find out more about our treatment for a fear or phobia of bugs or spiders, or to book an appointment with one of our child clinical psychologists who provides treatment for phobias, please email or call the clinic on 02 9438 2511.
