Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety is a common experience
Up to 13% of people will suffer from social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Social anxiety comes from a fear that you might say or do something embarrassing and others might think badly of you. Without treatment, social anxiety can stop people from doing things they want to do like meeting new people, building relationships, chatting to colleagues or going to university.

Without treatment, social anxiety can be persistent and disabling - it stops people from doing things they want to do like meeting new people, building relationships, chatting to colleagues at work, going to university, going for a job interview or going to the pub with friends.

About our treatment
The cognitive therapy program developed by our team of clinical psychologists is recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as the first line treatment for social anxiety.

In our cognitive therapy, you learn about the things that keep social anxiety going and how to overcome them with the help of tried and tested practical exercises, as well as helpful discussions. Treatment typically lasts 14 weeks, with some spaced follow-up sessions over the subsequent 3 months to help ensure you maintain all your gains.

Our research
Our current randomised controlled trial compares two different ways of delivering our cognitive therapy: (a) the therapy, in traditional format, with once-weekly face-to-face sessions in our central Oxford clinic; (b) a new internet-delivered version with regular support from a therapist throughout the week via skype, phonecalls, emails and sms. We look forward to sharing the results with you.

*Please note, we are no longer recruiting for this treatment trial*

If you are seeking treatment for Social Anxiety, other anxiety disorders or depression, we recommend that you consult your GP or your local Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service to find out about treatment options available in your area.

If you live in the Oxfordshire area, please contact TalkingSpace Plus on 01865 901 222 or visit their website for more information.

Alternatively, you can find other local IAPT services on the NHS website

Contact us
For queries regarding our Social Anxiety research, please email us oxcadat.enquiries@psy.ox.ac.uk