Nine Session Treatment of a Blood–Injection–Injury Phobia With Manualized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: An Adult Case Example
Abstract
The treatment of blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia has a unique treatment component as compared with other types of specific phobias. In particular, many patients with a BII phobia distinctively experience an increased susceptibility to fainting when exposed to feared medical-related stimuli due to a diphasic physiological response. Moreover, effective treatment protocols must not only include therapeutic techniques to ameliorate the patient’s fear response but also teach strategies that will allow the patient to remain conscious during exposure to feared stimuli. The current case study describes a manualized, cognitive behavioral therapy that utilized applied muscle tension techniques to comprehensively address the multifaceted components of an adult male’s BII phobia. Treatment included a combination of psychoeducation and cognitive restructuring that provided the patient with an empirically based understanding of BII phobia, practiced using applied muscle tension techniques to better manage his physiological processes during exposure followed by the utilization of in vivo graduated exposure to reduce distress and avoidance of feared stimuli. After completing nine sessions, the patient demonstrated considerable improvement as evidenced by reductions in anxiety and the willful seeking of medical care following treatment. Further implications and future directions for research are discussed.
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Several studies with different therapy and exposure modality and duration have reported favorable outcomes for BII phobia.
“Several studies with different therapy and exposure modality and duration have reported favorable outcomes for BII phobia (64–67).”
From Combined Fainting and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures as Significant Therapy Hurdles in Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia: A Mini-Review and Case Report (2022) · cites this paper as [64]
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- Authors
- Chapman, L. K., & DeLapp, R. C. T.
- Affiliations
- University of Louisville (US)
- Venue
- Clinical Case Studies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-10-30
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 299-312
- ISSN
- 1534-6501 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3802
- OpenAlex
- W2096473906
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Case Studies (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- blood-injection-injury phobia, graduated exposure, syncope, psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, specific phobia
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