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If fear is a precious emotion for effectively protecting a person from danger, it becomes pathological when irrational, attached to an object or to a situation which should not take on such a frightening characteristic. At this point fear is no longer evoked, but phobia. We shall see that since its inception, the idea of phobia has changed, seeking first to anchor itself in neuroses, then returning to the status of symptom in a category of anxiety disorders, detached from an unambiguous psychopathological link. We shall evoke its place in child development and its means of expression during adolescence. Finally we shall touch on possible treatment. Faced with classical psychodynamic treatment, modern evolution has brought in new means of treatment thanks to psychotropic drugs and cognitive behavioural therapy.