Rodent phobia, the fear of mice or rats, or more officially: musophobia, is a specific phobia in which people experience intense anxiety when seeing, hearing, or imagining mice or rats nearby.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with exposure is the recommended treatment for fear of mice and rats. In exposure therapy you practise step by step with mice or rats, guided by a psychologist, until the fear fades. 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.
No. You decide together with your psychologist how far you go. Nothing happens during treatment that you don't choose.