Channel 4 has commissioned The Fear Clinic, a fixed-rig documentary series focused on a clinic in Amsterdam with an unusual approach to treating phobias.
Every episode of the six-part series follows three British phobia sufferers as they journey to the Netherlands to face their fears. 10 million people in the UK have a phobia, or extreme or irrational fear.
Dr Merel Kindt is professor of clinical psychology at the University of Amsterdam, who has spent 20 years developing the Memrec treatment. Kindt’s unorthodox approach boasts a success rate of 83%, and encourages patients to approach their fear head-on, rather than avoid it. Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders, ranidophobia a fear of dogs and globophobia a fear of balloons.
The Memrec treatment uses a single beta-blocker to change how the brain stores fear, potentially curing sufferers for life after just one 48-hour session.
A fixed-rig set-up involves placing multiple cameras across filming locations, footage from which is then fed to a central control. One Born Every Minute and 24 Hours in A&E both make use of the format.
“Initially, it was quite unsettling to have numerous cameras in our clinic recording every step of our work,” said Kindt. “However, I view this as a collective endeavour for mental health education, to show the public what it means to live with debilitating fear. I am deeply grateful to the patients who bravely open up and share their most vulnerable moments. Together we aim to convey that it is entirely possible to break free from a life of shame and avoidance. My aspiration is that this series encourages people to seek treatment.”
