About Us
From October 1st, 2021 to April 1st, 2022, we piloted a free, brief program to help people who wanted to get vaccinated or boosted but struggled with needle phobia as the primary barrier. Pre/post data suggest this brief 2.5 hour intervention led to statistically significant increases in confidence and likelihood of getting vaccinated, and a statistically significant decrease in fear (there was no statistically significant change in importance of getting vaccinated, which on average started off already high among our participant group). It should be noted that there was no active control group (comparisons were based on pre/post data).
As of April 4th, 2022, we are no longer registering new participants for free therapy.
Relying on purely volunteer effort to provide free therapy was always intended as only a short-term solution during pandemic crisis times. As of April 1st, 2022, we are focusing on the following goals:
Expand our free resources for needle phobia, as those can be disseminated more widely than free therapy. In particular, we hope to develop additional child, adolescent, and parent-focused materials.
Maintain our nationwide Blood-Injection-Injury phobia therapist referral database. There is a critical shortage of therapists who specialize in BII and exposure therapy for phobias. If you are a BII specialist and would like to be added to this list, please email freeneedlephobiaCBT@gmail.com.
Pursue partnerships with larger systems, such as hospital groups and University-based training clinics, which can aid in dissemination at a larger, more efficient scale.
Pursue collaborations to explore avenues for further piloting and evaluating the teen intervention and a child version through a more efficient system than 1:1 matching with therapists.
Explore additional avenues for educating the public about needle phobia in children and adolescents through endeavors such as webinars, classes, town halls, and presentations.
Who we are
This project was founded by Jocelyn Sze, PhD, a licensed psychologist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a BA in psychology from Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa) and PhD in clinical psychology from UC Berkeley. Dr. Sze specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for phobias and other forms of anxiety, as well as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for the treatment of trauma. She serves as treasurer for the trauma nonprofit, Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinical Services, and board member for the McCune Foundation, which supports grassroots organizations that empower and mobilize excluded populations. Dr. Sze is justice oriented. She sees needle phobia as a public health and social justice issue: not just on the individual to figure out, but paramount for those in power (policy makers, healthcare leaders, and media outlets) to do better to articulate a more inclusive and empathic approach to healthcare. You can find more information about Dr. Sze at www.cbtsanfrancisco.com.
The child and teen lead of this project is Julie L. Lustig, PhD, a licensed psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area and adjunct faculty member at Stanford University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Following her predoctoral internship at the Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC and PhD in clinical psychology, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Lustig specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for children, adolescents, and young adults. She has taught and conducted research in mental health services for youth and led the development of a training program for pediatricians to improve adolescent health services. This needle phobia initiative brings together her passions for addressing this challenge of reducing barriers to vaccination for those who want to get vaccinated, broadening access to helpful CBT Tools, and working with healthcare systems and providers to meet the mental health aspects of health care for youth. You can find more information about Dr. Lustig at www.baycbtcenter.com.
Contact us
Feedback or questions? Want to collaborate with us? Have we helped you with your needle fears? We want to hear from you! You can contact us at freeneedlephobiaCBT@gmail.com.
Conflict of interest statement
This project was created in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Disclaimers
Information being provided on this website is general in nature and is not intended to replace or serve as therapy. Should you be experiencing emotional distress, it is encouraged that you contact your doctor to locate a mental health professional in your area. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing thoughts of harming yourself or others at your nearest emergency room.
Image credits
All icons from the Noun Project: Free by Kathryn Olivieri, Bandage heart by liz borchert, Reading by businessicons13, hands holding by supalerk laipawat, Calendar by Alice Design, Headphones by ANTON icon, ice cube by Muammar Khalid, talk by Warunk Icon, smell by Adrien Coquet, eyes covered monkey by Vectors Point, Badge by Gregor Cresnar, Mountain by Amethyst Studio, Muscle by Pascal Heß, Man Resting on Long Chair by Gan Khoon Lay, Video by i cons, Video by Funky, person by Jens Tärning, Scared by IYIKON.