An abnormal  fear of water.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary.

Copyright © 2002, Houghton Mifflin Company

A morbid fear of drowning.

WordNet 2.0 © 2002 Princeton University

    Aquaphobia, also known as hydrophobia, is the fear of water. Sufferers from aquaphobia experience anxiety even though they realize the water in an ocean, a river, a lake, a creek or even a bathtub may pose no imminent threat. They generally avoid such activities as boating and swimming.

Symptoms commonly experienced by aquaphobics when confronted with non threatening aquatic environment:

• Increased heart rate
• high level of anxiety
• loss of motor skills and apprpriate cognitive skills
• feeling out of control and claustrophobic
• crying, hysteria, trembling, nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, excessive sweating, difficulty breathing and hyperventilating

What does S.O.A.P do for those suffering from aquaphobia?

 “Failure no matter how large, is only temporary; success, no matter how small, lasts forever.”

S.O.A.P. offers aquatic instruction and emotional support to our participants who suffer from aquaphobia by developing a systematic skill building program to gradually overcome the fear of water at any level. We allow our clients to "wade into an aquatic experience and improve the quality of their lives forever".

Jeffrey Ror Krieger, M.S.

S.O.A.P.

Founder & Director 

Qualifications and Awards

• Thirty Years as Special Needs Swim Instructor
• Masters Degree in Counseling
• Summer Day Camp Swim Director
• Competitive Swimmer, Swim Official, and Coach
• 2006 National Hero Award from APHERD
• 2007 USA Swimming Water Hero Award
• 2006 -SOAP Instructor Program Certified for both Client based and Instructor Certification by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross
• 2007 USA Swimming Water Hero Award
• 2007 Speaker at World Aquatic Health Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio