[DP_2017]

I have a balloon phobia. It's not severe in the sense that I can be around them if they are up somewhere but the instant someone, esp a child, has one, I'm on edge and worried they will pop. Depending on circumstance, I leave.

In therapy, we have done very little prep with this, like holding deflated ones and having me watch popping videos online, which don't bother me much.... so now he thinks that me throwing darts at them is a next good step and we can make it a game... does anyone think this is a bad idea and could traumatize me more or is this usually how phobias go? Not sure if there is other steps before this that could be helpful even....?

[ShadowGX]

Gentle controlled exposure is usually how phobias go from what little I know about them. The dart thing might seem scary, but it gives you the power to make the fear trigger so it's supposed to help you feel confident over time that "it's not so scary" when it might happen outside of your control.

That said, if you are very uncomfortable with this you could ask him if there's any other baby steps you could try first. An idea I have is that maybe he could have you blow up a balloon and let the air out, no popping involved, then if that goes well visit the dart thing again.