Agoraphobia Center - San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Psychiatrist Doctors for AgoraphobiaType of Physician: Psychiatrist What is a Psychiatrist? A certification by the Board of Psychiatry & Neurology; practitioners are skilled in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, addictive and emotional disorders. He or she is trained to understand the biological, psychological and social components of illness and is qualified to order diagnostic laboratory tests and to prescribe medications, as well as to evaluate and treat psychological and interpersonal problems. The psychiatrist is also prepared to intervene with individuals and families who are coping with stress, crises, and other problems in living. Specialty: Psychiatry Common Name: Psychiatrist Doctors in San Francisco * Robert Cabaj MD  Howard C Rubin  Gateway Psychiatric Services  Mary Susan Hansen MD  San Francisco County Mental Health Services  Stephen S Schneider MD  Jeffrey Schwartz MD  Philip E Wolfson MD  Roy L Curry MD  George E Becker MD  Roy L Curry MD  Bates Huffaker MD  Jeffrey L Sandler MD  Richard Coopersmith MD  George H Harrison MD  Jonathan Mueller MD  George H Collyer MD  Jeffrey S Jones MD  Margo Leahy MD  Dennis C Turner MD  Joe A Walker MD  B Cody Fisher MD  Galina Gorodetsky MD  David L Levine MD  Michael Menaster MD  Norman Postone MD  William Prey MD  Frank S Ranuska MD  Mark H Strassberg MD  Terr Medical Corporation  Kathleen B Unger MD  Terrence Becker MD  J Samuel Chase MD  James Dimon MD  Steven Goldberg MD  Chesley C Herbert MD  Israel Katz MD  Mustafa Kizililsoley MD  Andrew H Klompus MD  Stephen Purcell MD  William M Quick MD  Stanley M Yantis MD  Julie Stahl MD  James J Bae MD  Harry Z Coren MD  Aubrey O Dent MD  David N Richman MD  Neil W Russack MD  Richard A Shadoan MD  Thomas E Singer MD  Frederick B Steele MD  H Thomas Stein MD  Beth Taylor MD  David I Tresan MD  Jules M. Weiss, MD  Andre L Zanger MD  John A Zeitz MD  Westport Counseling Services  Westport Counseling Services  William Foote MD  Dean Freedlander MD  Westport Counseling Services  Robert S Hausner MD  Allan L Kipperman MD  Westport Counseling Services  Richard Schoenbrun MD  Bruce S Victor MD  Westport Counseling Services  Charles Berger MD  Shahla Chehrazi MD  South of Market Mental Health  Joshua A Israel MD  John S Kruse MD  Mark Perl MD  Ruben Ruiz Jr. MD  South of Market Mental Health  Bruce Baker MD  Emily S Brewer MD  Arthur Carfagni Jr. MD  John M Dusay MD  Richard A Kunin MD  David B Leof MD  Richard Lieberman MD  Bruce Milin MD  Serafima Rovinsky MD  Harriet Wolfe MD  Marc Zussman MD  Ulrich Berg MD  Gerrit Blauvelt MD  B William Kilgore MD Inc  Robert M Kertzner MD  B William Kilgore MD Inc  Michael A Kirsch MD  B William Kilgore MD Inc  Community Psychiatry Associates  Chief of Psychiatry San Francisco Hospital  Jean Jacques Garbarz MD  Dan Karasic MD  Paul R Linde MD  Alberto Lopez MD San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is a popular international tourist destination, renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture and its famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars, and Chinatown. The city is also a principal banking and finance center, and the home of over 30 international financial institutions, helping to make San Francisco fifteenth in the world's list of cities by GDP and eighth in the United States. Upcoming Local Events2012-05-20
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AgoraphobiaRead the Agoraphobia article » What is agoraphobia?A phobia is generally defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes one to want to avoid it. The definition of agoraphobia is a fear of being outside or otherwise being in a situation from which one either cannot escape or from which escaping would be difficult or humiliating. Phobias are largely underreported, probably because many phobia sufferers find ways to avoid the situations to which they are phobic. The fact that agoraphobia often occurs in combination with panic disorder makes tracking how often it occurs all the more difficult. Other facts about agoraphobia include that researchers estimate it occurs in less than 1 percent to almost 7 percent of the population and that it is specifically thought to be grossly underdiagnosed. What causes agoraphobia?There are a number of theories about what can cause agoraphobia. One hypothesis is that agoraphobia develops in response to repeated exposure to anxiety-provoking events. Mental-health theory that focuses on how individuals react to internal emotional conflicts (psychoanalytic theory) describes agoraphobia as the result of a feeling of emptiness that comes from an unresolved Oedipal conflict, which is a struggle between the feelings the person has toward the opposite-sex parent and a sense of competition with the same-sex parent. Although agoraphobia, like other mental disorders, is caused by a number of factors, it also tends to run in families and for some people, may have a clear genetic factor contributing to its development. What are the symptoms of agoraphobia?The symptoms of agoraphobia include anxiety that one will have a panic attack when in a situation from which escape is not possible or is difficult or embarrassing. The panic attack associated with agoraphobia, like all panic attacks, may involve intense fear, dis... Recommended Reading Related to AgoraphobiaWhat are panic attacks?Panic attacks may be symptoms of an anxiety disorder. These attacks are a serious health problem in the U.S. At least 20% of adult Americans, or about 60 million people, will suffer from panic attacks at some point in their lives. About 1.7% of adult Americans, or about 3 million people, will have full-blown panic disorder at some time in their lives, twice as often for women than men. The peak age at which people have their first panic attack (onset) is 15-19 years. Another fact about panic is that this symptom is strikingly different from other types of anxiety; panic attacks are so very sudden and often unexpected, appear to be unprovoked, and are often disabling. Childhood panic disorder facts include that about 0.7% of children suffer from panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder and that although panic is found to occur twice as often in women compared to men, boys and girls tend to experience this disorder a... Other Related Agoraphobia ArticlesEmergency Contact for San Francisco
Nearby San Francisco Hospitals *Saint Francis Memorial Hospital California Pacific Medical Center Pacific Campus California Pacific Medical Center Davies Campus UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion Chinese Hospital Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center San Francisco General Hospital California Pacific Medical Center East Campus St Mary's Medical Center California Pacific Medical Center California Campus St Luke's Hospital UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center San Francisco VA Medical Center Seton Medical Center Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Summit Campus Alameda Hospital Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland Kaiser Permanente Medical Center at Oakland Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Herrick Campus Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Campus Alameda County Medical Center Highland Campus Doctor's Medical Center San Pablo Marin General Hospital Kentfield Rehabilitation & Specialty Hospital Mills-Peninsula Health Services Mills Hospital San Leandro Hospital Kindred Hospital San Francisco Bay Area John George Psychiatric Pavilion Alameda County Medical Center Fairmont Campus Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center Seton Medical Center Coastside San Mateo Medical Center Eden Medical Center Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center St Rose Hospital Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center Contra Costa Regional Medical Center VA Northern CA Healthcare System at Martinez Sequoia Hospital John Muir Medical Center Walnut Creek Campus Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center Novato Community Hospital San Ramon Regional Medical Center John Muir Behavioral Health Center St Helena Hospital Center for Behavioral Health John Muir Medical Center Concord Campus Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center Menlo Park Surgical Hospital Sutter Solano Medical Center Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford Hospital & Clinics Washington Hospital Fremont Hospital ValleyCare Health System Pleasanton VA Palo Alto Health Care System El Camino Hospital Petaluma Valley Hospital Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
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Related Diseases & Conditions
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Anxiety
- Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
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Panic Attacks
- Panic attacks are sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. These episodes can occur at any time, even during sleep. A person experiencing a panic attack may believe that he or she is having a heart attack or that death is imminent. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms: racing heartbeat, faintness, dizzyness, numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers, chills, chest pains, difficulty breathing, and a feeling of loss or control. There are several treatments for panic attacks.
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Alcoholism
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Stress
- Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
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Depression
- Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
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Suicide
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Phobias
- Phobias are unrelenting fears of activities (social phobias), situations (agoraphobia), and specific items (arachnophobia). There is thought to be a hereditary component to phobias, though there may be a cultural influence or they may be triggered by life events. Symptoms and signs of phobias include having a panic attack, shaking, breathing troubles, rapid heart beat, and a strong desire to escape the situation. Treatment of phobias typically involves desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and beta blockers.
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Mental Health
- Mental health is an optimal way of thinking, relating to others, and feeling. All of the diagnosable mental disorders fall under the umbrella of mental illness. Depression, anxiety, and substance-abuse disorders are common types of mental illness. Symptoms and signs of mental illness include irritability, moodiness, insomnia, headaches, and sadness. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
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