Blood Injection Injury Phobia Program
About Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia
People who suffer from Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) Phobia experience intense fear and discomfort when confronted with one or more of the following:
- Needles and other injection-related stimuli
- the sight of blood
- being injured or seeing injuries
- invasive medical procedures
This phobia is further complicated by the presence of fainting – fainting occurs in over 70% of people who suffer from BII phobia. BII phobia is also one of the most common phobias, with prevalence rates reaching over 3% of the population. It is also a phobia which is potentially life interfering and life threatening, whereby sufferers may avoid situations ranging from routine health interventions and preventative medicine through to life-saving medical interventions. The fainting response itself can also become a feared outcome for many BII phobics, and can further exacerbate avoidance of medical procedures and other life situations.
Getting Help...
Despite BII phobia being a common problem, many people don't realise it's a psychological issue. This is because many of the symptoms are often physiological in nature (e.g., fainting, nausea etc). People may also not seek help because they don't understand the nature of the problem or how to get help.
Currently there are few specialised treatment programs in Australia for BIIP. This has lead the Emotional Health Clinic (EHC), in conjunction with two leading Australian BII Phobia researchers (Dr Andrew Page – Professor and Co-Director Robin Winkler Clinic, University of Western Australia and Ms Elizabeth Mason, Doctoral Candidate, UNSW), to develop a skills-based group treatment program to effectively help people suffering from BII Phobia.
About the EHC BII Phobia Group Treatment Program
The treatment program is aimed at adults suffering from BII Phobia symptoms where these symptoms are causing significant distress and/or interference in their lives. The program involves eight two hour group sessions over eight weeks. Topics covered across the course of the program include:
- Understanding the nature of BII phobia (causes, effects & maintenance)
- Coping more effectively with fear and disgust symptoms, and preventing fainting
- Learning to question and challenge fearful thinking and fear predictions
- Overcoming fearful reactions and avoidance through gradual exposure to feared situations
- Reducing other safety behaviors which are maintaining BII fears
- Relapse prevention
How Do I Get Involved in the Program?
Step 1: Before you come in to our Clinic, an intake officer will conduct a short telephone interview with you to briefly discuss your current concerns and advise you as to whether the program is likely to meet your needs.
Step 2: If we feel that the program may be able to help you, we will arrange an initial diagnostic assessment interview with one of our psychologists at the Emotional Health Clinic. This assessment will take approximately 1-2 hours, and will allows us to get a very detailed understanding of your current problems and any other related emotional and physical health problems. Following this, you and your assessing psychologist will make a decision about whether the program is suitable to meet your treatment needs. If it is decided that the group will not provide you with the required help, we will arrange a suitable referral for you.
Step 3: If you decide to proceed with the BII Phobia group treatment program, you will be then contacted by someone from our Clinic who will inform you of the start dates for the next program. Please be aware that there may be a wait of 3-6 weeks before your program commences. Groups usually run one evening a week (6-8 pm) for 8 consecutive weeks.
Step 4: Prior to your group commencing, you will be asked to complete some questionnaires online. These allow us to further determine your individual needs, as well as providing us with a way to continually evaluate how effective the program is for each individual.
What commitment does the program ask of me?
The development of our treatment programs and the continued advancement of our knowledge about BII phobia would have been impossible without the support of the many clients over the years. We ask every participant in our program to complete some online questionnaires at 1 month and 6 months after the completion of the program so that we can continue to further evaluate the program’s effectiveness in both the short and long term. The information is vital as it allows us to continue to further develop the program for future participants in the years to come.
Who do I talk to if I want to know more?
If you have any further questions, please contact the Emotional Health Clinic on 9850 8711.
For more information, download our brochure <here>
