I hope this note finds you well. Being a patient of yours several years ago, I thought it fitting to reach out to you after all of this time to let you know about an important milestone I’ve recently accomplished. We met back in 2012 (?) as I was seeking help for anxiety due to fear of flying. Back then, the goal was to take a vacation with the family to Vancouver, British Columbia, which I successfully did. Since that trip, I’ve flown regularly and each time have learned how to better identify and manage any anxiety I might feel. However, I knew I wanted to do 2 more things – take a flight that was actually enjoyable, and fly to Europe. I’ve recently done both. In March I experienced the serene, relaxing flight home from a business trip to Boston. Just last week, I returned from a fantastic 2 week vacation in Ireland (the flight was long but definitely not anxiety inducing!) Our next trip will be to Italy in 2019.
Why take the time to tell you this now, after so much time has passed? Because after all of this time, I wanted you to know that I still use (and benefit from) the techniques I learned during our time together. As a college professor, I’ve had students tell me that their experiences shaped them long after they were in my class. It amazes me how an individual can take one thing from my class and use it to change their path. I’m always honored to hear from them, and the conversations are some of the most rewarding experiences of my profession.
Dr. Pravel, my experience with you has shaped me long after I learned from you. It has changed my path. Thank you!
The above is an email I recently received from a former client who came to me for help to overcome her dread fear of flying. She was an employed professional woman who wanted to be able to travel with her husband since they were at the point in their lives that they could afford to finally visit some of the places in the world they had always hoped to visit. But her flying phobia grounded those plans for many years and she was finally ready to free herself from her shackles of fear. I used Cognitive therapy to help her better recognize that her core fear was the fear of losing control of herself and freaking out on the plane – not really the fear of a plane crash. The cognitive work helped her learn how to identify, challenge and replace irrational catastrophizing with rational thoughts and feelings. I used Behavioral Therapy by giving her exposure exercises including trips to the airport to watch planes take flight, and techniques to modify her negative images and narrative about flying into positive ones by creating pleasant stories of people on the plane and their excitement about the great locations they were heading to and the good times they were going to have. She was willing and able to follow through with these challenges until she was able to board a plane – and there’s been no stopping her since! Congratulations Andrea and thank you for sharing this with me and allowing me to share it with others.