Helping someone get over their fear of mice?

I am an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) new in the field. Tonight I had a client who came in and told me about an overwhelming fear she has of mice. She has panic attacks and it is difficult for her to sleep after seeing one. I have not dealt with this before and feel at a loss on what to say. I asked all the right questions but I feel without actually going out and looking at mice, facing it directly I am unsure where to go with her. Any suggestions? Only serious replies please, I am new to this field!! Thanks. -EricaHelping someone get over their fear of mice?
So, she has a fear of mice?








Force her to face her fears, Tell her that mice are nothing to be afraid of.








Here's a move I call the 'Landa' (Named for Hans Landas characters rant at the beginning of Inglourious Basterds... Trust me, this is good, and will work for her.)





Say=: ';Has a mouse ever done anything to you to create this animosity you feel towards them?';





{*If she says that they are gross, Lead her on to ask something along the lines of ';Rats Spread Disease'; or ';Rats Bite';*


Now, after you have tricked her into saying one of those two things (PREFFERABLY BOTH)}





Say= in a humourous manner at first=: ';Unless some fool is stupid enough to try and handle a live one, mice don't make it a practice of biting human beings. In all your born days, has a mouse ever caused you to be sick in a day of your life? Any disease a mouse could spread, a Hamster/Rabbit/Gunea Pig could equally carry. Yet I assume you don't share the same animosity with Hamsters/Rabbit/Gunea Pigs that you do with mice, do you?';





{She should be saying No right now}








NOW SAY=: ';Yet, they are both (mammals if she chose RABBIT, Rodents if she chose Hamsters or Gunea Pigs), are they not? And except for the fact that mice generally have a short tail, and Rabbits/Guneapigs/Hamsters have little or no tail at all, they even look a little alike, don't they?';





{What she responds really won't matter much at this point.}





SAY=: ';If a mouse were to scamper through your front door, right now, would you offer it some cheese?';





{If she says Yes, then test her.


IF SHE SAYS NO, THEN CONTINUE}





(if she says no) SAY= ';I didn't think so. You don't like them, you really don't know why you don't like them. All you know is, you find them repulsive.';





{She will say 'I guess so' regrettfully}





Now, it is time for you to test her.








With tests, just have the cutest mouse you can find.





The reason I chose the wording for this script of what you should say is because you need to make her feel bad for hating mice, that's the best way to do it and it cures alot of phobias fast. Combine it with facing the fear and you have a fool-proof solution!Helping someone get over their fear of mice?
Panic attacks are one of the scariest thing that people have to go through. Not only are they scary, they can also be very confusing. Naturally, anyone who has been through this frightening experience is curious to know what to do if you鈥檙e having a panic attack. After all, there has to be a better way than just suffering through these terrifying event, without a solid plan to take action on.
There鈥檚 a lot of confusion over what the symptoms a panic attack actually are. Much of this confusion can be attributed to the media鈥檚 misrepresentations of panic attacks and the lack of real knowledge by the general public. This leads to clinomorphisms in which a person will exaggerate their symptoms and call it a panic attack, when all it is is a moment of great surprise or unpleasantness.
How often does she see a mouse/rat?





In 42 years, I've seen 2 rats near a city garbage can. That's it.





Perhaps she should ';mouse'; proof her home?
i don't know how frightened she is, but i wanted to stop being afraid of rodents, so i bought a hamster. i hardly held it, but i liked watching it sleep and fluff itself, and began to enjoy feeding it, and watching it run on its wheel.





then after a few years when it died, i was able to go to the pet store and pick out another, and even look at mice without any fears, because they were so much smaller than hamsters and their tails didn't bother me. i was still afraid of rats however, but i took a look at them and when i saw them cleaning themselves like hamsters and sleeping, their faces and bodies didn't cause such a huge alarm in me anymore because i realized they were in fact, kind of cute with only longer ';hamster faces';...





i don't have any hamsters now because they don't live very long, and i was very fond of a few of them and i cried when they died. but i am cured and i am not afraid of rodents anymore, and even watched ratatouille the pixar film without problems...





now if you can find a way to cure me of my fear of disneyland and viewmasters...hahahaha
Two words, systematic desensitization. First cage her level of fear to mice by having her look at pictures of mice. Go through with her how she feels when she sees it and take close note of her fight/flight reactions.


If she doesn't seem to experience anxiety at this level move to television and repeat the session. (make sure they are not cartoony or ';cute'; mice, you want her to see something like what she would naturally encounter)


These are visual, they are easier to become comfortable with, next move on to a rubber toy and repeat session.


Then on to a furry version of the toy.





After you have established trust with the client in that nothing you have thus far done with her has caused her harm in any way, you can move on to the next step.


Bring the cage to a mouse in. NO MOUSE! Get her used to the environment it will be in.


Next bring a mouse in the cage. Leave it on another side of the room and proceed with a session.





The last batch will be the actual handling of the rat. Honestly most people will not pass this point especially with animal/insect phobias, but getting her in the same room as a mouse could be an enormous achievement.


Go from petting in cage to picking up to holding.


If her phobia is not severe enough to need this extent of therapy, then just skip some of the stages. Remember to move at her pace and never imply she should be moving on to the next step by the next session. Phobias, if not treated can lead to serious personality disorders and panic attacks. It all depends on how serious it is right now.
You might start with assigning her to research mice, learning as much as possible about them, understanding them. She needn't have to look at one to do this. But after she does her research, have her study some pictures of mice.





Trying to help her remember what happened to make her afraid of mice would be of little use probably. Hopefully, learning all she can about them will expose some of her irrational thinking about them. Tell her to challenge what she THINKS she knows about mice and what the truth about them really is.





The next step might be for her to buy a stuffed mouse. Just start out small, the first step as unfrightening to her as possible and each time she reaches a state of being comfortable with that step, move on to the next step. Set small goals that are realistic, that is of course if she feels the need to overcome her feer of mice.





Good luck,





Kristi