Psychology, Department of
ORCID IDs
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
12-2009
Citation
Behavior Therapy 40:4 (December 2009), pp. 414–424.
doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2008.12.001
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent and impairing disorder for which viable cognitive-behavioral therapies exist. However, these treatments have not been easily packaged for dissemination and may be underutilized as a result. The current study reports on the findings of a randomized controlled trial of a manualized and workbook-driven individual cognitive-behavioral treatment for social anxiety disorder (Hope, Heimberg, Juster, & Turk, 2000; Hope, Heimberg, & Turk, 2006). This treatment package was derived from an empirically supported group treatment for social anxiety disorder and intended for broad dissemination, but it has not previously been subjected to empirical examination on its own. As a first step in that examination, 38 clients seeking treatment for social anxiety disorder at either the Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University or the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln were randomly assigned to receive either immediate treatment with this cognitive-behavioral treatment package or treatment delayed for 20 weeks. Evaluation at the posttreatment/postdelay period revealed substantially greater improvements among immediate treatment clients on interviewer-rated and self-report measures of social anxiety and impairment. Three-month follow-up assessment revealed maintenance of gains. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Comments
Copyright © 2009 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies; published by Elsevier Ltd. Used by permission.