One of the main causes of driving phobia is being involved in a road traffic accident. However, on occasions individuals develop a driving phobia after a narrow escape where there was a potential for an accident which did not actually happen.
People who suffer from driving phobia find it particularly difficult to drive on motorways because the exits are far apart and they feel trapped. If this remains untreated this anxiety may spread to other roads and eventually limits the driver to short distances on familiar roads where they are able to stop the car at any time. In severe cases the individual may stop driving altogether and may find it difficult even to get into a vehicle.
Hypnotherapy is very valuable for treating driving phobia. During the treatment sessions the patient is hypnotised and encouraged to imagine a series of situations involving driving. It is important that when the patient practices driving in real life after the session that a competent driver travels with them. This gives the patient confidence and reassurance that, if they are unable to continue driving, the other driver can always take over. Some patients prefer to book a course of driving lessons with an instructor.
In addition to the hypnotherapy it may well be necessary to incorporate some individual psychotherapy into the treatment programme.
During the course of the treatment the patient gradually learns to drive first on familiar routes and then later to venture onto A roads and motorways further field. In this way suffers from driving phobia can look forward to a complete recovery and drive wherever they wish.