FAQ for the Public

Hesitant about the vaccine because you don’t like needles? You’re not alone.

Needle anxiety is very common. 10-25% of the adult population has a fear of needles and injections to the extent that they avoid injection-related medical care. If you’ve had bad reactions or bad medical experiences in the past, we understand and we are here to help.

Submit your name, email address, and U.S. state in which you reside through our confidential, HIPAA-compliant portal and we’ll match you with a trained CBT therapist to help you overcome needle anxiety. We will NEVER sell or distribute your email address for any other purpose. 


Here’s how it works

Once you get matched, you complete pre/post measures (20-min) and two 50-minute virtual sessions of free exposure therapy (see p. 9) directly targeted at addressing needle/injection anxiety. You complete a brief exposure hierarchy to gradually face and overcome your fear, with the last step in your hierarchy (if you so choose) being vaccination! If you have a history of fainting, you will also learn applied tension, a simple technique to reduce fainting. Our therapists are trained in delivering empowering and inclusive care. You got this. 

Note: If you have a severe history of fainting and/or convulsions, please discuss this with your doctor before exposing yourself to situations (such as pictures of needles) that could cause fainting.

What’s the launch date?

Currently we are recruiting participants and therapists with the aim to launch our pilot program by October 1st, 2021.

Treatment is free and only takes two hours

We’re a collective of licensed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy therapists offering free virtual treatment that helps adults overcome needle anxiety. While many needle phobias can be effectively treated with brief treatment, therapy is never a one-size-fits-all approach and you may need more than two sessions of exposure therapy to treat needle phobia. In addition, if you have a severe history of fainting and/or convulsions, it’s better to do exposure therapy in an in-person medical setting. While our therapists are unable to offer more than two free teletherapy sessions, you can try looking here, here, here or here for longer-term and in-person (but not free) therapy options. (We are not affiliated with or paid to promote any of these organizations).

Can you guarantee I get matched with someone?

Unfortunately, as we launch this program we cannot guarantee you will get matched with a therapist. Getting matched will depend on the number of therapists recruited who are licensed (or supervised by a licensed therapist) that can operate within your state of residence. Our number one priority is to get you matched, but if we can’t, please refer to the other options linked below.

Therapy? No thanks. Any other options?

Practicing these strategies may help you manage the anxiety of booking and completing your vaccination. You can also check out the free self-guided exposure program for needle phobia created by Anxiety UK found here

Is this appropriate for crises or medical emergencies?

NO. This is a highly targeted, 2-session treatment with the sole purpose of reducing needle phobia so you can get vaccinated. Our therapists are donating their time and are unable to respond to crises, medical emergencies, or provide any other care beyond these two needle phobia sessions. If you choose to seek longer-term or more comprehensive care, you can try looking here, here, here or here. For emergencies, call 911 or 1-800-273-TALK, which is a national network that provides free emotional support to people in suicidal or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I also have a phobia of blood draws. Can I participate?

Yes. However, given the brief nature of this therapy, we will NOT be targeting blood phobia or include exposures that involve graphic images of blood. We are only targeting what is necessary to confront in order to get vaccinated. If you have a phobia of injections and blood, this therapy could be a great first step, but you will likely need additional support to tackle the latter.

Can children sign up?

No, not at this time. In the future, we hope to add child therapists to our network. If you would like to put your child on our waitlist, you can email freeneedlephobiaCBT@gmail.com and we will contact you when and if we expand to child CBT.

Can non-US residents participate?

Currently, we are launching this program for US residents only, but we hope to expand to other countries in the future!

What else do I need to know?

For teletherapy sessions, you must have access to the internet and a device (e.g., computer or smartphone) that runs Mac, Windows, Android, or iOS and has either a built-in or external camera and a microphone. 

Free therapy, what’s the catch?

There is no catch. You can find out more info at our About Us. We are a community who wants to do our part in fighting the pandemic. Targeting needle phobia and medical anxiety is one of the most effective ways we can reduce the spread of variants and get our freedom back. Please join us.