Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Social Anxiety Disorder: An Integrative Strategy

Larry Cohen, LICSW, A-CBT  

3 CE credit hours

Prerecorded Webinar

This workshop is designed for those who have already been trained in at least the basics of cognitive-behavioral therapies in any of its variants, such as cognitive therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, and exposure therapy. Prior experience in working with social anxiety is not necessary.

This intensive workshop provides an in-depth discussion of five evidence-based cognitive-behavioral strategies for the treatment of social anxiety disorder: experiments/exposure; cognitive restructuring; mindful focus plus thought defusion; assertion training; and core belief change work. Attendees will learn the basics of how to apply, combine, and adapt these strategies to the needs of socially anxious individuals. Several of these strategies will be demonstrated during the session through role plays. There will also be a discussion on how to design and implement exposures as experiments to test and modify automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions and core beliefs for the purpose of decreasing social anxiety and shame, and building self-confidence. Many client worksheets, instructional handouts and questionnaires are provided for use and adaptation in your own practices.

Attendees will become familiarized with the major debates among the three waves of cognitive-behavioral therapies as to the most effective strategies for treating social anxiety disorder, and how to integrate the best of each of these variant approaches:
–exposures for habituation v. experiments to change thoughts and beliefs (aka violating expectancy);
–cognitive restructuring v. thought defusion plus mindful focus;
–cognitive restructuring before or after experiments;
–teaching mindfulness as meditation v. teaching attention training (aka curiosity training) during interactions;
–in-session v. homework experiments (aka exposures);
–in vivo v. role-played v. imaginal v. virtual reality experiments;
–paradoxical (aka social mishap / shame-attacking / decatastrophizing) experiments v. straightforward experiments;
–using fear hierarchies v. cognition to choose exposures;
–eliminating safety behaviors v. the judicious use of safety behaviors during experiments;
–whether it is important to work on changing core beliefs or only automatic thoughts;
–group v. individual CBT;
–social skills training v. CBT;
–the pros and cons of medications.

 This workshop is designed to help you:

  • Integrate the most effective strategies from all three waves of cognitive and behavioral therapies to improve the treatment of social anxiety disorder.
  • Design and implement exposures as experiments to test and modify automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, and core beliefs for the purpose of decreasing social anxiety and shame, and building self-confidence.
  • Train socially anxious persons in the use of external mindfulness and thought delusion (vs. meditation), and how to convey the rationale for this strategy to socially anxious clients.

Requirements for completion: This is considered home study for reporting purposes, and in order to get CE credit you must pass the post-test (75%%) and submit a completed evaluation. Once both the post-test and evaluation are received by MPA, a CE certificate will be emailed within 7-10 business days.

REGISTER 

Larry Cohen, LICSW, A-CBT, is the co-chair and cofounder of the National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC), a network of many clinics around the US; director and psychotherapist at Social Anxiety Help (NSAC District of Columbia) for 30 years; certified in CBT by the Academy of Cognitive & Behavioral Therapies.