Brief Report Open Access

Cognitive-Behavioral and Emotional Therapy in Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia

Abstract

Introduction: Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia (BIIP) represents a major disability in the lives of patients who suffer from it. They tend to avoid medical care and examinations, which can negatively impact their overall health. Cognitive- Behavioral and Emotional Therapies (CBET) have proven to be effective in managing this specific type of phobia.

The objective of our work was to demonstrate the effectiveness of Cognitive- Behavioral and Emotional Therapies (CBET) in the management of Blood- Injection-Injury Phobia (BIIP) through the study of a clinical case

Method: This was a descriptive study concerning the management of a 26-year- old patient with Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia (BIIP). The psychotherapy took place over twelve sessions, conducted between January and June 2021. The sessions were held weekly or biweekly, with an average duration of one hour each. The therapy sessions were conducted at the Department of Dental Medicine at the Military Hospital of Tunis.

Results: Following the qualitative and quantitative assessments, psychoeducation was implemented. Cognitive work was then carried out by identifying beliefs and cognitive distortions using techniques such as the downward arrow, evidence examination, and Socratic questioning. Behavioral interventions included training in Jacobson's relaxation technique and applied tension, which were employed during both imagined and in vivo graduated exposures. By the end of the therapy, there was a clear clinical and psychometric improvement of approximately 80% across the various assessment scales used, and the patient was able to undergo wisdom tooth extraction without losing consciousness.

Conclusion: Having demonstrated their effectiveness, cognitive-behavioral and emotional therapies (CBET) should be included in the range of treatments for specific phobias, particularly blood-injection-injury phobia.

Haifa Mami^*1,2 , Wafa Abdelghafar^1,3 , Hend Ouertani⁴ , Obaid Garouachi⁴ , Zeineb Alaya^1,5 , Haifa Tounsi^1,5, Bassem Khattech⁴