CBT Treatment for Social Anxiety and Social Phobia

Social Anxiety and Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is a common mental health condition. Symptoms of social anxiety include shyness, a fear of social situations, and a strong desire to avoid them. It can manifest in various forms, from discomfort in public speaking to overwhelming anxiety in everyday social interactions. 

Anxiety in social situations or situations that involve other people is very common. Many people feel anxious in social situations. The lifetime incidence of social anxiety disorder in adults (aka social phobia), the most severe form of social anxiety, is over 12%. Approximately 7% of adults meet the criteria for social anxiety disorder at any time. Oftentimes, when this disorder is left untreated, it can result in severe functional impairment. Studies have found untreated social anxiety disorder to be associated with much higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and other anxiety disorders. Fortunately, there is a cure for social anxiety disorder: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) is a scientifically validated therapy for social anxiety disorder that has shown remarkable success and is recognized as the most effective treatment for social anxiety disorder. CBT aims to help individuals with the tools to identify and challenge negative thought patterns, confront their fears through exposure therapy, and develop new, healthier cognitive and behavioral habits. Significant research shows that CBT offers a path to lasting change and empowerment for individuals suffering from social anxiety.

Numerous research studies have found CBT to be the treatment of choice for social anxiety, significantly more effective than medication or traditional talk therapy. Follow this link to a chart comparing the effectiveness of CBT to other treatments for social anxiety disorder. Through CBT for social anxiety, people learn different ways of reacting to thoughts and feelings and engaging in different behaviors that decrease anxiety symptoms. CBT also helps people learn and practice social skills when there is a deficit. Unlike traditional talk therapy, CBT for social anxiety is an active, brief treatment involving the use of skills training and behavioral homework assignments. Through learning and practicing CBT skills, people learn to become their own therapists, which is why CBT for social anxiety lasts significantly less time than traditional therapy. Click here to learn more about what CBT is.

CBT for Social Anxiety

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy offers a range of effective interventions for social anxiety, empowering individuals to regain control of their lives. Research shows CBT for social anxiety is effective for most people in 12-20 weekly sessions of CBT. CBT techniques for social anxiety include:

Cognitive Restructuring

Identifying Negative Thought Patterns: CBT can help people change their habitual thinking patterns to manage social anxiety. One of the initial steps is recognizing and understanding the negative thought patterns that contribute to being socially anxious. By using the cognitive model, individuals can pinpoint these unhelpful thought processes through self-reflection and guidance from a therapist.

For example, people with social anxiety often predict that they'll fail in social situations, causing them to avoid these situations. Over time, this avoidance results in fewer social encounters, dwindling relationships, and an even stronger belief that they are inept socially. Recognizing this thought pattern as a self-fulfilling prophecy can be the first step in interrupting and short-circuiting the pattern.

Challenging and Replacing Irrational Beliefs: Once identified, these negative ways of thinking, sometimes called cognitive distortions, are challenged and replaced with more rational, balanced beliefs. This cognitive therapy process, called cognitive restructuring, enables individuals to shift their perspective and reduce the power of anxiety-inducing thoughts.

Using the example above, the assumption that "I will fail in social encounters, so there's no point engaging" can be investigated to determine whether it's grounded in fact. By examining the evidence, you might find there are plenty of exceptions to this belief. You might also realize that you are labeling normal interactional patterns as failures. For instance, people with social anxiety often mistakenly code a lull in the conversation as evidence of their awkwardness. The reality is that both parties in the conversation are equally responsible for keeping it going, and lulls in the conversation are expected parts of most conversations. Finally, it's not uncommon for people to have some deficits or blindspots in their relationship skills. By more accurately identifying the problem (such as identifying discomfort with small talk) rather than applying an overly broad label to it (an inability to engage in any conversation), it becomes easier to realize where there's a problem to be solved. If small talk is difficult, it's an easy skill to get good at. And not knowing what to talk about can be solved with just a couple of sessions of communication training. 

Cognitive Defusion: Cognitive defusion is a valuable therapeutic technique in the treatment of social anxiety, as it empowers individuals to distance themselves from their anxious thoughts and self-limiting beliefs. By learning to observe their thoughts without judgment and recognize them as mere mental events rather than absolute truths, people can reduce the intensity of their anxious reactions. This process allows them to gain a more balanced perspective on social situations and the negative self-assumptions that accompany their anxiety. 

You might have a lot of thoughts about how terrible a social function will be and how you will fail. If you get hooked by those thoughts, you're liable to not talk to other people, leave early, or skip the occasion altogether. By defusing from these thoughts, allowing them to be there without engaging in them or paying too much attention to them, you can still attend the function, talk to lots of people, and engage more effectively. Over time, it will become easier to avoid getting hooked by the thoughts, and eventually, they'll recede into the background. 

Exposure Therapy

Gradual Exposure to Social Situations: Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of CBT for social anxiety. It involves a systematic and gradual reduction of avoidance of feared social situations or triggers. This approach allows individuals to become desensitized to the anxiety and build confidence over time. We know that avoidance of social situations keeps social anxiety going. Exposure therapy aims to help people fight the habitual urge to avoid social situations and learn to approach them instead. 

The first step is listing out different social situations that provoke anxiety. Then, you arrange them into a hierarchy by ranking them according to the amount of anxiety they trigger. Having created the hierarchy, you've plotted the course of your exposure therapy. In gradual exposure, you start with the least anxiety-provoking situation, engage in it repeatedly until it triggers less anxiety, and then move on to the next situation until you've mastered that one.

For example, small talk with strangers may be at the bottom of your exposure hierarchy. You'd develop a plan for what kinds of people you'd approach and what sorts of things you'd say to them, and then you execute the plan repeatedly over the week until your anxiety lessened. The more you practice, the easier it gets and the more comfortable you feel. One of my favorite ways of helping people practice this is going to a mall to have short conversations with the salespeople. Start with the clerk at one store, have a conversation, go to the store next door, and repeat. At the end of the day, you'll have had numerous conversations, gotten a lot of practice, and will feel more confident talking to new people. Once you've mastered it, it's time to move to the next thing on your hierarchy.

This kind of therapy has been shown to have the best treatment outcomes for social anxiety disorder, significantly reducing anxiety even when extreme anxiety is present. Unfortunately, fewer than 20% of therapists do not use exposure therapy due to a lack of training and experience. If you seek treatment for social anxiety, make sure your therapist plans to incorporate this treatment approach. 

Building Tolerance to Anxiety: An older intervention called systematic desensitization aimed at improving social anxiety by reducing the anxiety response through reducing physical symptoms. After a systematic review of effective interventions for anxiety, we now know this is not the best treatment for social anxiety for a very important reason: Anxiety is a normal part of relationships. Whenever you care about something going well, some degree of anxiety is a normal and even helpful response. Learning how to tolerate and make space for anxiety reduces overwhelming anxiety levels in the long term. As individuals repeatedly confront their fears, they build tolerance to the anxiety associated with social situations. Exposure therapy helps individuals learn that their anxieties are normal, manageable, and not as catastrophic as initially perceived. Paradoxically, the more you accept anxiety as a natural part of relationships, the less of it you have. 

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a powerful tool in treating social anxiety, offering individuals a means to better understand and manage their anxiety responses. By practicing mindfulness, individuals with social anxiety can become more attuned to their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations in a non-judgmental way. This heightened self-awareness allows them to identify the root causes of social anxiety and recognize distorted thinking patterns, which often contribute to their fears about social interactions. Moreover, mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing and meditation, help individuals to stay grounded in the present moment, reducing their focus on past mistakes or future worries that fuel social anxiety. Over time, mindfulness can enable individuals to develop a more balanced perspective on social situations, respond to anxiety triggers more adaptively, and cultivate a sense of inner calm, thereby promoting a significant improvement in their social well-being and confidence.

Behavioral Experiments: Behavioral experiments involve actively testing the beliefs and assumptions that underlie social anxiety. Individuals engage in real-life situations to gather evidence about the accuracy of their fears and anxieties. If you believe going to a party will be a failure because people will think you're weird and will not want to talk to you, you'll never have evidence to the contrary unless you test it out. By going to the party and collecting objective data, you can challenge anxious thoughts and develop a more realistic appraisal. You might find that there are some awkward or uncomfortable interactions, but as you talk to more people, you find people with whom you have a natural chemistry and enjoy talking to. This evidence-based approach is instrumental in reshaping cognitive patterns.

Social Skills Training

Communication Training: Social skills training plays a vital role in the treatment of social anxiety, as it equips individuals with the tools and confidence needed to navigate social situations effectively. This therapeutic approach focuses on developing communication and interpersonal skills, enhancing communication, and improving emotional intelligence. For individuals with social anxiety who often struggle with fear of judgment and negative self-perception, social skills training offers a structured and supportive environment in which to practice and refine their social interactions. It helps individuals learn to manage their anxious feelings using coping skills, such as reducing avoidance behaviors like avoiding eye contact, and self-consciousness in general. Additionally, by providing opportunities to receive feedback and encouragement, social skills training can boost self-esteem and reduce the fear of negative evaluation, ultimately leading to greater comfort and success in social settings. Overall, it empowers individuals to gradually build their social confidence and engage more meaningfully with others, making it a valuable component of a comprehensive treatment plan for social anxiety.

Assertiveness Training: Assertiveness training is a highly effective component of cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety, as it empowers individuals to express their thoughts, needs, and feelings in a confident and respectful manner. For those grappling with social anxiety, assertiveness can be particularly challenging, as the fear of judgment and the desire to avoid confrontation often leads to passive or submissive behaviors. Assertiveness training equips individuals with the skills to communicate assertively, teaching them to express themselves honestly while setting appropriate boundaries. Helping individuals develop these skills boosts their self-esteem and self-efficacy and reduces the avoidance behaviors common in social anxiety, reducing social anxiety symptoms. As individuals become more adept at asserting themselves, they gain the confidence to engage in social interactions with less fear and self-doubt. In turn, this can lead to improved relationships, a more fulfilling social life, and a reduction in the overall impact of social anxiety.

Social Anxiety Treatment at our Los Angeles Center

Our Social Anxiety Treatment Program

Nestled in the vibrant heart of Los Angeles, our outpatient social phobia treatment center is dedicated to providing specialized care for individuals with social anxiety. Our esteemed team of psychologists, many of whom hold faculty positions at renowned universities in the Los Angeles area, is devoted to ensuring the highest quality of social anxiety therapy tailored to your unique needs.

Expertise at the Forefront

In the realm of social anxiety care in Los Angeles, our team of therapists, all of whom are licensed psychologists, distinguishes itself with expertise in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This evidence-based and proven approach is effective not only for social anxiety but also for a spectrum of mental health disorders. Our Los Angeles outpatient social anxiety treatment center is committed to guiding you through a journey toward emotional well-being, supported by a deep understanding of the intricacies of psychological issues.

Comprehensive Treatment for Social Anxiety

Reflecting the diversity of Los Angeles, our practice extends beyond focusing solely on social anxiety. Our therapists, deeply connected to the local community, are equipped to address a myriad of psychological concerns. This ensures that you receive a comprehensive and personalized treatment plan resonating with the unique spirit of Los Angeles.

In-Person and Online Social Anxiety Treatment Options

Recognizing the diverse needs of our clients, our outpatient social anxiety treatment center provides both in-person and online treatment options. Whether you prefer face-to-face sessions with our therapists at our convenient Los Angeles locations or the flexibility of virtual sessions from the comfort of your home, we are dedicated to offering an accessible and effective outpatient treatment program that aligns with your lifestyle in the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles and its surroundings.

Accepting New Clients to Our Los Angeles Social Anxiety Treatment Program

We understand that taking the first step towards seeking help can be challenging. Rest assured, our outpatient treatment program is currently open to new clients, and our Los Angeles-based team is ready to support you on your path to recovery. Your well-being is our top priority, and we offer both individual and group therapy for social anxiety, ensuring a high-quality treatment plan.

Specialized in Outpatient CBT for Social Anxiety in Los Angeles

Cognitive-behavioral therapy forms the core of our approach, aligning with the principles of effective mental health care. We believe in the empowering potential of CBT to equip individuals in our Los Angeles treatment center with practical tools and strategies to navigate and overcome the challenges posed by social anxiety. Our dedicated focus on CBT ensures that you receive targeted and evidence-based treatment.

If you are seeking expert social anxiety treatment in Los Angeles, look no further. Our team of dedicated psychologists, is here to provide the support and guidance you need. Take the initial step toward a brighter future by reaching out to us today to schedule an appointment.

At Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles, our doctoral-level mental health professionals specialize in the most effective, brief treatments for social anxiety. If you or someone you know is grappling with social anxiety, seek assistance by calling or emailing us today to schedule an appointment.

To learn more about CBT for social anxiety disorder or would like a consultation to determine whether CBT for social anxiety is right for you, visit Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles for more information.