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- Montreal Therapy Services
Queen Elizabeth Health Complex
2100 Marlowe
Suite 626
Montreal, Qc, H4A 3L6
514-482-3327 -
A subdivision of:
Montreal Psychology Center
1310 Greene Ave. suite 760
Westmount, Qc, H3Z 2B2
514-515-9350
Social Anxiety
What is Social Anxiety?
Social Anxiety is the intense and persistent fear of negative evaluation by others in a social or performance situation. It is essentially a deep fear of humiliation or embarrassment. In some cases, exposure to a feared social situation can provoke a panic attack.
What causes and/or maintains Social Anxiety?
- Genetics: Twin and family studies suggest that there is a genetic vulnerability in those who develop Social Anxiety (e.g., Kendler et. al., 1992; Fyer et. al., 1993).
- Some data suggest that Social Anxiety in adulthood is associated with a childhood history of social inhibition and shyness (Schwartz, Snidman, and Kagan, 1999). However, Temperament is not destiny. About one-third of individuals who come into the world “wired” to be shy lose their timidity during the process of development.
- - Parents who protect their shy kids from social fears promote anxiety, whereas parents who put gentle pressure on their kids to be more outgoing help their kids to overcome their temperament.
- - Social competence is very important in overcoming a timid temperament.
- Beliefs: Social phobics hold negative beliefs about themselves and others.
- - Social phobics are characterized by self-derogatory thoughts. They rate their social skills more harshly than observers (Stopa & Clark, 1993).
- - They view others as inherently critical – therefore they believe that they are likely to be evaluated negatively (Leary et al., 1988).
- - They view relationships as hierarchical and competitive (Trower & Gilbert, 1989).
- Information processing: Social phobics devote excessive attentional resources to the detection of potential social threat cues such as frowning and yawning (Veljaca & Rapee, 1998).
- Social phobics have a tendency to overestimate the occurrences of negative social events and associate exaggerated costs with these events (e.g., a refused request for a date is equated with the likelihood of a lonely existence).
How can Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy help for Social Anxiety?
Both Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy and drug treatment are equally effective for Social Anxiety. Some research suggests that medication leads to slightly better results in the short term, whereas Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy is associated with less relapse in the long run.
Two main therapeutic elements are used for the treatment of Social Anxiety:
- Cognitive restructuring: This therapeutic strategy aims to help client’s alter negative self-talk and inaccurate fears about the outcomes of social interactions.
- Exposure: Therapy gently helps clients face their social fears. In most cases, clients discover that their fears were unnecessary. The result is that they become more comfortable with social interactions.