Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) is a cross-culturally real illness, which leads to dysphoric and anxious mood and high level of distress for those people. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has proved to be one of the most effective and common treatments to social anxiety. This paper is intended to explain how CBT conceptualizes the reasons for social anxiety, and describe the most relevant CBT techniques, cognitive restructuring and exposure therapy, to treat the problem. To better treat the social anxiety, the importance of the patients’ past and their sociocultural environment are worthy of attention. Chinese traditional culture emphasizes on interpersonal relationships, interpersonal harmony and the hierarchy within the relationships results in the higher level of anxiety in Chinese. Cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) seems to be one of the most common and effective treatment for social anxiety for Chinese.