Stuck on COVID-19 Needle Phobia? Strategies for Helping Clients

With the roll-out of mass COVID-19 vaccinations for children and adolescents across North America, more individuals than ever before are facing their potential needle phobia.

Psychologists, social workers, clinical counsellors, and other mental health professionals are asking the themselves, “What does evidence-based treatment for childhood needle phobia look like?” and “How best can I support children and families through this difficult event?”

Hear our esteemed speaker address these topics and more within our live webinar.

Dr. Kelly N. Banneyer – Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

This session included a lecture from the speaker and will be followed by a question and answer session. Participants will have a chance to submit questions in advance of the event, as well as in the live chat. The webinar was held on May 28, 2021.

This webinar will be hosted using Zoom and recorded for those who are unable to attend the live event. All registrants will receive a link to the recorded webinar and all presentation materials several days after the conclusion of the event.

Participants in this workshop will develop a greater understanding of:

  • What a fear of needles/injections looks like in children and adolescents.
  • When children and adolescents may benefit from intervention for needle phobia.
  • The basic components of intervention delivered by health professionals.
  • Strategies that parents can use to prepare their child to receive an injection.
  • Tips for parents and providers to use at the time of the injection.

In the event that participants cannot attend the live event, the webinar will be recorded and distributed to those who have registered. Those who view the recorded webinar will still be eligible to obtain the certificate of attendance.

Presenter information

Dr. Kelly N. Banneyer

Dr. Kelly Banneyer (she/her) received her Bachelor’s degree from Rice University, majoring in both Psychology and Cognitive Sciences. She then attended The University of Texas at Austin to receive her Ph.D. in School Psychology with specialty in pediatric and clinical child psychology. Dr. Banneyer matched for internship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, and she stayed on to complete a two-year clinical post-doctoral fellowship. Currently, Dr. Banneyer is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Section within the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), and she practices as a licensed psychologist within the Texas Children’s Hospital Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Disorders Program. Her area of specialty is working with preschoolers, children, and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, social anxiety, selective mutism, separation anxiety, specific phobias, and generalized anxiety. She also specializes in working with young children whose anxiety presents as disruptive behavior. Dr. Banneyer uses evidence-based intervention, primarily exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy (ERP+CBT) and parent management training (PMT) in her work with children and their families. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been providing services both in-person and through a Telehealth modality. In line with her clinical interests, Dr. Banneyer aims to research and disseminate factors to enhance exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy. Her current research projects include the investigation of the role of anxiety in families and the development of a brief intervention to treat anxiety in preschool-age children.