“Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common psychological problems – one that can severely impact and restrict the lives of those who live with it.  Fortunately, there are highly effective treatments available. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been extensively researched and repeatedly shown to be effective in treating social anxiety disorder.  CBT has been shown to help people overcome their fear of being judged and overcome their tendency to avoid social situations.The National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC) is dedicated to increasing awareness of this problem and connecting people with social anxiety disorder with well-trained, specialized clinicians.  NSAC requires that all regional clinics have staff that are Diplomates of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Diplomates of the Academy have extensive training and experience in CBT and have demonstrated through a rigorous protocol their ability to provide effective treatment. I strongly support the mission and work of the National Social Anxiety Center.”

“Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a very common, yet debilitating, mental disorder. In fact, more than 12 out of 100 people in the US will experience this disorder in their lifetime. Therefore, it is important to conduct research studies in order to better understand and treat SAD. Fortunately, there are already effective treatments available for this disorder.The most commonly used medications are SRRIs. However, they produce side effects and are only moderately effective in the short-term and are associated with relapse when people stop the medication. In contrast, the response rate of modern cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAD is almost 75%. This treatment can be done as an individual or a group treatment. It generally consists of about 12-16 weekly sessions and includes exposure strategies to target cognitive factors that maintain the disorder. One challenge is the initial barrier for patients to seek out the treatment because of general avoidance strategies, stigma, and fear of negative evaluation. However, once patients begin this intervention, the dropout rates tend to be very low. Another, and perhaps even bigger challenge, is lack of or inaccessibility to trained providers. For this reason, it is so important that NSAC requires that all regional clinics have staff certified by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Nobody has to suffer from this common and debilitating disorder. NSAC serves a key role in improving people’s lives.”

“Social anxiety disorder is one of the most prevalent mental health problems in the United States, one which often severely impacts the lives of those who live with this problem. Social anxiety is often misunderstood by individuals who are struggling with this problem, as well as their friends and family members. The disorder often goes undiagnosed or untreated due to the lack of awareness and understanding of social anxiety.Fortunately, there are highly effective treatments available, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).  The National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC) is dedicated to providing and expanding the availability of evidence-based therapy, as well as increasing public awareness of this problem and what treatments are most effective.  I wholeheartedly endorse NSAC’s work and mission.”

“The National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC) is a fantastic resource for consumers, their families, and mental health providers to learn about social anxiety and its treatment, and to find competent practitioners. NSAC has many useful tools on their website, such as a free self-scoring questionnaire for social anxiety, a description of the benefits of group vs. individual treatment, and videos describing CBT strategies for overcoming social anxiety.CBT is the most researched form of psychotherapy and also the most efficacious form of treatment for social anxiety disorder. It is a sad reality that while many providers say they provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), only a small percentage of them have actually completed the rigorous process of certification in CBT, which means that they have completed intensive post-graduate training in CBT and have provided recordings of their actual therapy sessions to be independently rated by a credentialing committee to assess their competency. All of the regional clinics that partner with NSAC have clinicians who are certified in CBT, so you know you will receive good care there.”