The worry starts early.
A flight, procedure, or planned outing occupies your thoughts days ahead of time.
A trip you keep putting off. An appointment you cannot bring yourself to book. Fear can make something you want or need to do feel out of reach.
Dr. Kayla offers psychiatric evaluations, medication review, and therapy referrals by telehealth across Colorado. Exposure-based therapy is the main treatment for specific phobias; Honeybee can help you understand where to start.
When fear changes your plans
A specific phobia involves a strong, persistent fear of a particular object or situation that is greater than the actual danger. It may affect your choices long before you encounter the trigger.
A flight, procedure, or planned outing occupies your thoughts days ahead of time.
Your heart races, you shake, or you feel nauseated when the feared situation gets closer.
You change routes, decline invitations, or make other plans to avoid the trigger.
Health appointments, work travel, or time with people you care about become harder to follow through on.
Disliking something does not automatically mean you have a phobia. Lasting distress, avoidance, and the effect on daily life are reasons to seek an evaluation.
Understanding the trigger
Specific phobias may involve flying, heights, enclosed spaces, needles, blood, animals, insects, storms, or vomiting. The same situation can feel threatening for different reasons.
Someone avoiding an elevator may fear getting trapped. Another person may fear having panic symptoms inside it. Describing what you expect to happen helps clarify the concern and the kind of care that may fit.
Your psychiatric evaluation
Your first appointment is a one-hour evaluation with Dr. Kayla. You can describe the fear in your own words, without knowing its name or exactly why it began.
The conversation helps distinguish a specific phobia from other concerns, such as panic attacks that happen without a particular trigger or anxiety about being judged by others.
Bring your medication list and any questions about previous care. If you already work with a therapist, tell us what you have been working on and what you hope will change.
The object or situation, what you expect might happen, and how you respond.
Avoidance and its effect on appointments, school, work, travel, or relationships.
Current medications, medical concerns, other mental health symptoms, and previous treatment.
Something you want to be able to do, questions you need answered, and support you already have.
Medication review & coordinated care
Medication is usually not the main treatment for an isolated specific phobia. An evaluation can help determine whether there is a role for medication, including care for another anxiety or mood concern.
Discuss whether anxiety happens mainly around one trigger or also affects other parts of your life.
If medication is considered, review its purpose, possible benefits, side effects, interactions, and alternatives.
Follow-ups consider symptoms, medication tolerability, and progress toward the activities that matter to you.
Therapy can be your starting point. You do not need medication to begin exposure-based treatment. Honeybee focuses on psychiatric evaluation and medication management; Dr. Kayla can discuss therapist referrals and coordinate with your existing clinician with your permission.
A small practice. A personal connection.
Kayla Day Krug, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Dr. Kayla is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and the founder of Honeybee Psychiatry, a woman-owned practice.
Her approach is direct and compassionate, with time to explain treatment decisions and hear your questions. She has a particular focus on women's mental health and generally works with patients ages 8 through 40.
Getting started
Tell us about your concern, any current treatment, and whether you plan to use insurance or self-pay.
Meet with Dr. Kayla by telehealth to discuss the trigger, your symptoms, and how fear is affecting your choices.
Review therapy referrals, whether medication management is appropriate, and how to coordinate with care you already receive.
Appointments & costs
Initial evaluations and most follow-up visits happen online. Join from a private, suitable space without making a regular trip to Denver.
You must be physically in Colorado during your appointment. Limited in-person visits are available at our Denver office by arrangement.
If in-person care is important to you, ask about scheduling before booking so we can discuss whether our availability will work for you.
We can help review your specific insurance coverage and estimated patient responsibility. Costs depend on your plan and benefits.
Insurance estimates are not a guarantee of your final cost. Self-pay is due at the time of service.
Questions about phobia care
Many people feel uneasy around heights, needles, or certain animals. A specific phobia involves fear that is out of proportion to the danger and leads to significant distress or avoidance. The evaluation considers how persistent it is and how much it affects your life.
No. Some fears follow a frightening experience; others have no obvious starting point. You can seek help without identifying a cause. Describing what happens now is a useful place to begin.
You and a trained therapist plan gradual practice with the feared trigger. This may begin with smaller steps and progress toward situations you want to handle. Treatment is planned around the specific fear and your needs.
Honeybee provides psychiatric evaluation and medication management. Exposure-based therapy is provided by a therapist trained in that treatment. Dr. Kayla can discuss referral options and coordinate with your therapist with your permission.
Yes. Tell Dr. Kayla about your current care and goals. With your permission, she can communicate with your therapist about recommendations and any medication plan.
Tell us what is planned and how fear has affected similar situations. An evaluation considers your symptoms, health history, and current medications. A prescription is not automatic; recommendations may include therapy or coordination with the clinician performing the procedure.
Dr. Kayla generally sees patients ages 8 through 40, depending on their needs. Caregiver input can help describe a younger patient's fears and the effect on home and school. Recommendations and referrals are based on age and the evaluation.
If fear keeps deciding which plans you make or which appointments you postpone, let's talk about it. Dr. Kayla can help clarify the concern and discuss a next step that fits your needs.