OUR MISSION

National Social Anxiety_CBT_group sessions_therapy

The National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC) is established with the intent of making the highest quality, evidence-based psychotherapy services to treat social anxiety available to those in need. We aim to do this through the following means:

 

Research

NSAC and its Board and regional clinics are dedicated to keeping up with the latest research available in the study of social anxiety disorder treatment.  NSAC members agree to approach their clinical work with the spirit of learning, experimentation, and willingness to advance the science of social anxiety treatment.

Collaboration

NSAC members are committed to sharing their experiences with other NSAC members in order to enrich and strengthen the quality of services we provide.  Operating within the context of legal and ethical mental health treatment, NSAC members strive to advance the standard of care for social anxiety treatment by sharing their best practices with each other.  NSAC members strive to collaborate with researchers in the field in order to share their clinical experiences, thereby enriching the scientific process.
 

Dissemination to Other Psychotherapists

NSAC members value and commit to providing mental health professionals outside of its organization their knowledge and expertise in the treatment of social anxiety disorder.  This education is intended to broaden the quality and availability of treatment.

Education to the Public

NSAC members vow to increase the general public’s awareness and understanding of social anxiety disorder.  This is done to increase access to services for those in need and to de-stigmatize the public’s perception of social anxiety disorder.  NSAC members will strive to do this by giving talks, producing and disseminating articles, videos, and other education materials.
 

NSAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers:

CHAIR & COFOUNDER Larry Cohen, LICSW, A-CBT Representing NSAC District of Columbia (Social Anxiety Help)
TREASURER & COFOUNDER John Montopoli, LMFT. LPCC, A-CBT Representing NSAC San Francisco (Pacific CBT)

Coordinators:

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR Lauren Neaman, PsyD, A-CBT Representing NSAC Associate: Chicago (Modern Anxiety Solutions)
PEER CONSULTATION COORDINATOR Celeste Conlon, PhD, A-CBT Representing NSAC Houston / Sugar Land (Conlon Psychological Services)
CLINICAL EDUCATION COORDINATOR Taylor Wilmer, PhD, ABPP NSAC Associate
BLOG COORDINATOR Katy Manetta, PhD, A-CBT Representing NSAC Long Beach (Belmont Psychological Services)
RESEARCH COORDINATOR Julie DiMatteo, PhD, ABPP Representing NSAC North Jersey (CBT Specialists of New Jersey)
MARKETING COORDINATOR Chamin Ajjan, LCSW, A-CBT, CST Representing NSAC Brooklyn (Chamin Ajjan Psychotherapy)
RECRUITMENT COORDINATOR Kristy Notarangelo, LCSW, A-CBT Representing NSAC Coastal Delaware (Sussex CBT)

At-Large Board Members:

 

OTHER NSAC MEMBERS

 
Antonia Pieracci, PhD, A-CBT Representing NSAC Denver (CBT Denver)

 

ENDORSEMENTS

 

Dennis Greenberger, PhD 

-Past President and Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy -Co-Author of Mind Over Mood: Change How you Feel by Changing the Way You Think -Director, Anxiety and Depression Center, Newport Beach, CA -Associate Clinical Professor, University of California Irvine -Clinical Psychologist 
Dennis-Greenberger
“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.”
 

Stefan G. Hofmann, PhD

-President, International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy -Past President, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies -Co-Author of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder -Co-Author of Emotion in Therapy: From Science to Practice -Editor-in-Chief of Cognitive Therapy and Research journal -Director, Social Anxiety Program, Boston University -Director, Psychotherapy and Emotion Research Laboratory, Boston University -Professor of Psychology, Boston University 
stefan-hofman
“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.”
 

Leslie Sokol, PhD

-Credentialing Chair and Founding Fellow, Academy of Cognitive Therapy -Director of Education, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy -Co-Author of Think Confident, Be Confident, and Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens -Co-Author of Teaching and Supervising Cognitive Behavioral Therapy -Fellow, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies -Teaching Faculty, Mercy Suburban Hospital, by Philadelphia -Licensed Psychologist 
leslie-sokol
“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.”
 

Daniel Beck, LICSW

-Director of the CBT and Social Work Training Initiative at the Boston University School of Social Work -Instructor in CBT and social work at the Boston University and Simmons College -Founding Fellow of The Academy of Cognitive Therapy -Clinical social worker in private practice -Has served as research clinician in several CBT research projects, including at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital  
Daniel Beck, LICSW
“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.”
 

Irismar Reis de Oliveira, MD, PhD

-Developer of Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy -Founder and Director of the Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy Institute -Founding Fellow of The Academy of Cognitive Therapy -Author of 2 books (including Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy: a Manual for Clinicians), 115 articles, 15 book chapters, and editor of 3 other books, all related to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) -Full Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil -Former Head of Psychiatry Service, University Hospital, at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil 
 
 

“Best of the Counseling and Mental Health Web” Award

 

Mastering Counseling podcast, United Kingdom

(a show for mental health professionals and students) June 26, 2018.

DISCLAIMER: The National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC) exists solely to promote evidence-based treatment for social anxiety, and education about social anxiety. NSAC is not a group psychotherapy practice, and does not provide any psychotherapy services. NSAC assumes no liability for it’s regional clinics’ work or practices.

STANDING UP FOR MARGINALIZED PERSONS: There is rising violence, abuse and discrimination in the United States directed against Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims, women, LGBTQ persons, immigrants, and other marginalized groups. The National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC) stands for the welfare, dignity and equality of all people, regardless of individual differences and societal standards. In all our clinical and educational work, NSAC stands against racism, antisemitism, misogyny, homophobia and all other forms of bigotry and abuse.