Social Anxiety Treatment - Does Psychotherapy Work?

A lot of variables come into play when it comes to finding a plausible social anxiety treatment for any person. First of all, any form of treatments for social anxiety should only be taken only under the directive of a psychiatrist as this classified as an issue for the mind. Self medicating on anti-depressant drugs is definitely out of the question, because this can only cure one symptom of social anxiety. However, the problem lies in the simply fact that many people with social anxiety or social phobia (the extreme form of social anxiety) do not seek professional help… thinking that this is not a medical condition, or their fear of being outside their sanctuary overrides common sense.

In effect, any form of social anxiety treatment should begin with accepting the fact that there is a problem to begin with. As such there are usually two recommendations for social anxiety treatment: and psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy for social anxiety

The CBT or the cognitive-behavioral therapy is one form of accepted psychotherapeutic treatment for social anxiety, social phobia and most other panic disorders. This is a step by step procedure that allows the person to gradually change his or her thinking about social gatherings and the fear (or stigma) attached to these. Often, the psychiatrist leads the person into a series of questions that both finds out where the fear originates from and why these fears are irrelevant in the actual social gathering that the person have attended or may be attending.

• Part of the CBT is the gradual reintroduction of the person in social events – a step that is often referred to as “exposure.” This is actually one of the most difficult aspects of any psychotherapeutic treatment. It consists of 4 components, namely: graded, duration, frequency and focused.
  
• Graded - The person is exposed to a social gathering that is deemed “bearable” to the person. This can be as little as the psychiatrist and an acquaintance, or more. As time passes, more and more “participants” are included. Or, the person is recommended to attend social functions of his or her choosing.
  
• Duration - The person is allowed to stay in this social gathering for as long as the person can endure it. Naturally, the person is allowed out of the treatment procedure any time he or wishes. However, the goal here is to let the person “stay” in one social setup a bit longer than the first few tries.
  
• Frequency - Depending on the person, some treatment exposures could be 2 to 3 times a day; 2 to 3 times a week; or 2 to 3 times a month.
  
• Focused: the person is allowed to “endure” the anxiety until he or she learns how to let the anxiety pass and relax with the situation.

CBT also includes anxiety management training that the person can do prior, during and after these exposures. These may be in the form of deep breathing exercises, or muscle relaxation exercises or a combination of both. Often group therapy is also in the works, but only much later in the therapy stage of the social anxiety treatment.

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