Fear of vomiting (emetophobia) is an intense fear of vomiting or seeing others vomit. People may avoid certain foods, travel, social situations or illness because of this fear.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the recommended treatment for emetophobia. You learn to respond differently to thoughts about nausea and vomiting, and practise step by step with situations you avoid. A newer form of CBT is Memrec, developed at the University of Amsterdam. Memrec targets the fear memory itself: the fear is briefly activated once, after which you take a single dose of a beta blocker. During your assessment we discuss which approach suits you best.
That depends on the treatment. Every treatment starts with an online diagnostic assessment. With Memrec, you then usually need two sessions at our clinic, on consecutive days: the treatment session and a follow-up the next day to test the effect. Regular CBT or exposure therapy usually takes 3 to 8 sessions after the assessment. Before you start, you can book a free 15-minute call with one of our psychologists.
The complete Memrec programme costs £1,595. We also offer exposure therapy and one-to-one consultations or CBT, online or hybrid, starting from £250 per session. The introductory call is free.