Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder in Adults and Adolescents

Presenter

Professor David M Clark is the Chair of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. He is well–known for his pioneering work in combining experimental psychopathology and clinical studies to develop new and effective psychological treatments for anxiety disorders. NICE currently recommends the treatments developed by David’s group as first line interventions for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and PTSD. Recently, he has focused on how to effectively disseminate treatments to the public and is one of the architects of the English Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme. Currently, the IAPT program treats around 600,000 people per year and reports clinical outcomes on almost everyone. David is the UK Government’s Clinical and Informatics Advisor for the program and provides advice on the dissemination of psychological treatments to commissioners in many other countries.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the BPS & BABCP and a Fellow of the British Academy and Academy of Medical Sciences, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the Association for Psychological Science (USA). He holds Lifetime Achievement/Distinguished Scientist Awards from BPS, American Psychological Association, American Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies and the Society for Science in Clinical Psychology. In 2012 he was made a Commander of the British Empire in recognition of his work in mental health.

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder is common and remarkably persistent in the absence of treatment. It frequently leads to occupational and educational underachievement. Interpersonal relationships are impaired. Dissatisfaction with the way that life is progressing often triggers depressive episodes.

Clark and Wells (1995) proposed a cognitive model that aims to explain why social anxiety disorder is so persistent. A distinctive form of cognitive therapy that targets the maintenance processes classified in the model was developed. Randomised controlled trials in the UK, Germany and Sweden have demonstrated that the new treatment is highly effective. Comparisons with other active treatments have established that cognitive therapy is superior to: two forms of group CBT, exposure therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, SSRIs, medication-focussed treatment as usual, and placebo medication. Such a comprehensive demonstration of differential effectiveness is extremely rare in psychotherapy.

This workshop presents the Clark & Wells model and illustrates the key treatment procedures that have been developed from the model. These include: the self-focused attention and safety behaviours experiential exercise, video-feedback, externally-focused attention training, behavioural experiments, and procedures (discrimination training and memory re-scripting) for addressing early experiences that influence patients’ current behaviour in social situations. The treatment procedures are illustrated with case material and videos clips from therapy sessions. Guidance on the use of the most appropriate measures for identifying therapy targets and monitoring progress is also provided. Finally, the workshop explains why some procedures that are common in other CBT programs (e.g. thought-records, positive self-talk in a phobic situation, exposure hierarchies) are NOT used in Clark & Wells’ cognitive therapy program. As social anxiety disorder usually starts in adolescence, the workshop covers how to use the treatment in adolescents as well as adults.

You will learn

1. To identify key processes in maintaining social anxiety disorder
2. The main procedures in cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder
3. How to track change in the maintenance processes during therapy.

Course Schedule

8:00 – Registration & Breakfast
9:00 – Workshop begins
10:30 – Break
12:00 – Luncheon (served on-site)
13:00 – Workshop continues
14:30 – Break
16:00 – Concluding remarks