Although no one enjoys the prospect of being stung by a wasp, a person who suffers from a wasp phobia is so terrified of wasps that they avoid going on picnics, eating in the garden and in severe cases refuse to go on holiday in case a wasp alights on them.
The treatment of wasp phobia involves gradually introducing the wasp to the patient first in diagram form, then as a picture, and later as a dead wasp. This is all done first in the relaxed atmosphere of hypnosis and then immediately afterwards, while still in the consulting room, they are presented with the same scenario with out hypnosis. Once the patient is comfortable in the presence of a dead wasp, the next stage is to learn to be able to tolerate the presence of a live wasp. If the patient perseveres with the therapy it is possible to achieve a complete recovery.