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consultation topic

Phobias

High efficacy

phobias are among the disorders with the best response to psychological treatment.

High efficacy

phobias are among the disorders with the best response to psychological treatment.

  • Confidential
  • Accepts insurance
  • Registered psychologists
  • ERS certified

What is it?

A phobia is an intense, disproportionate fear of a specific situation or object, such as heights, flying, needles, animals or driving. Agoraphobia is the fear of being in places that would be hard to leave or where help would not be available, such as public transport, queues, shopping centres or open spaces, and social phobia is the fear of being judged by others. In all of them, avoidance brings relief in the moment and makes the fear grow.

Signs and symptoms

The symptoms of a phobia are intense, immediate fear when facing what you dread, with palpitations, sweating, trembling and the urge to escape, anxiety at the mere thought of it, and avoidance. In agoraphobia people avoid public transport, queues and crowded places; in social phobia, speaking or eating in front of others.

How we help

The treatment with the best results for phobias and agoraphobia is exposure therapy: a gradual approach to what you fear, in steps agreed with you, with strategies to regulate anxiety. For specific phobias it usually works within a few sessions. Online therapy in English, by video call, with an English-speaking therapist: for people in Portugal and for expats, wherever you live in Europe.

our team

Specialist professionals

Inês Santos
Inês Santos
Psychologist · Licence 29995
Online Consultations
PortugueseEnglish
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Describe how you feel, in your own words. Sofia takes care of the rest. No forms and no forced choices.

accepted insurers

Médis · Multicare · AdvanceCare · Fidelidade · Ageas · AXA · Allianz · Medicare · and others

The invoice for each consultation can be submitted to your health insurer for reimbursement, according to your plan. What you say in your sessions is confidential and never reaches the insurer.

faq

It is the fear of situations where escape would be difficult or help unavailable if a panic attack came: public transport, bridges, queues, crowds, or simply leaving home alone. Without treatment, the area where the person feels safe keeps shrinking.

They are among the problems that respond best to treatment. Gradual exposure, agreed with you step by step, usually brings results within a few sessions for specific phobias and over a longer period for agoraphobia.

Yes. The exposure plan is prepared in the session and carried out between sessions, in your daily life. With agoraphobia, being able to start from home is often what makes the first step possible.

No. You can book directly on our website or with Sofia, our virtual assistant, without any referral from your GP.

Online only for now, while our clinic in Cascais is being refurbished. We reopen in December, and in-person sessions return with it.

MB Way, Multibanco, debit or credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Revolut Pay. You can also pay at the clinic itself, in cash or by card, leaving a card on file as a guarantee for the booking. Any credit on your account is applied automatically to your next session.

We have no direct billing agreement with insurers, but we work on a reimbursement basis with the main Portuguese insurers and with ADSE. The invoice for each consultation can be submitted for reimbursement, according to your plan.

Yes. The discount applies automatically, with no sign-ups and no cards: from 5 sessions on you always have a discount, up to 20%.

Yes. Up to 24 hours before the session you can cancel and choose between a full refund to your original payment method or keeping the amount as credit. With less than 24 hours notice there is no refund, but the amount stays as credit valid for 90 days. Rescheduling is possible up to 24 hours before, at no cost.

Yes, for online sessions too. After the session, ask the clinic team for it by chat, email or WhatsApp. The certificate is available in your client area and states only the day, the time and that it was a psychology session, without mentioning the reason. It has a code that lets your employer confirm it is genuine at suaclinica.pt/verificar.

Yes. All data is processed in accordance with GDPR and the professional confidentiality psychologists are bound by. Our data protection policy explains what we collect, what it is for and how you can exercise your rights.

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