I think there are many levels of phobia related to water and swimming so it's hard to provide blanket advice. But I had a friend who was in her mid-30s and could not swim and was very self-conscious of the fact. Her biggest concern was her worry that everybody would be looking at her as she tried to learn to swim at her age (she wasn't phobic of water but was afraid to learn to swim).

So, I signed the both of us up for a water aerobics class at a local pool (I was a lifeguard growing up and have maintained my Red Cross certification so I was confident that she wouldn't encounter any trouble). The class was held at the shallow end (so her feet were always comfortably on the pool floor) and we were just two women of many in the class (nobody looking at us). Over the course of several weeks, her comfort level with being in a pool grew tremendously and she really enjoyed the social aspect of the group. She found out that a few other women were "weak" swimmers or had limited swimming experience, so they all signed up for lessons together.

She later told me that if it wasn't for the group experience, she wouldn't have dreamed of taking lessons.

I don't know of this helps or not. As a former swim instructor, I know that the root of the phobia is really key. A person who has had a traumatic childhood (or adulthood) experience with water/swimming will require a much different approach than someone who just grew up without needing to know how to swim.

Melon Dash has written a wonderful book "Conquer Your Fear of Water". The website with information about the Miracle Swimming Institute is: http://www.conquerfear.com/

I have had a life-long (50+ years) fear of water. After reading her book and taking a class from licensed instructors of her method, I am now learning to swim with absolutely no fear. It works!