Patient reports excessive fear of a specific object or situation. Phobic stimulus triggers an immediate anxiety response (which may take the form of a situationally bound or situationally predisposed panic attack) and is avoided or endured with extreme distress.

Yes

Person recognizes that fear is excessive or unreasonable.

Consider psychotic disorder

Fear causes significant distress or functional impairment.

Consider no mental disorder

Fear is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., if the patient reports unexpected panic attacks, intercurrent anxiety, and the anxiety is not exclusively focused on the possibility of having a panic attack in the phobic situation, a diagnosis of panic disorder may be appropriate).

Consider alternative diagnosis

Specific phobia criteria are met. Specify type.

Fear is cued by animals or insects.

Specific phobia
Animal type

Fear is cued by storms, heights, water, or similar situations.

Specific phobia
Natural environment type

Fear is cued by the sight of blood, injections, or other medical procedures.

Specific phobia
Blood-injection-injury type

Specific phobia
Other type

End

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Specific phobia
Situational type

Fear is cued by some other specific situation.

Yes

Fear is cued by specific situations such as public transportation, tunnels, bridges, elevators, flying, driving, or enclosed places.

Yes

No