My 10yo daughter has an irrational fear of roaches. If one is in a room she won't go in there. If it touched something of hers, she won't touch it unless its been washed. If it touches her, she freaks out. Then she can't touch that spot. Like tonight, one touched her foot. Now she won't walk on it, touch her own foot.
Iv tried exposing her to them, educating her. I've picked them up, explained that thw bush roaches we have are actually quite clean, and keep their living space clean, that they won't hurt her. But it's not helped.
How do I help her get past this
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1 Replies
A Psychologist could help with graded exposure and just helping her to learn coping skills including how to cope with those anxious thoughts.
I do know one child that had a fear of spiders, so his parents made him an expert on spiders and it did help.