What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT

The two main conventional treatments for social anxiety disorder are: cognitive behavioral therapy CBT and medication. Sometimes both may be used at the same time.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ( CBT )

The central concept of the cognitive part, of cognitive behavioral therapy CBT is; what we think effects how we feel and what we do. If focuses on your cognition. Another way to view this, is that cognitive therapy focuses on your self talk for example you say to yourself all day long.
The behavioral part, of cognitive behavioral therapy CBT, focuses on behavior rather than the internal thought processes. It includes approaches on how to condition behavior, using principals like pain and pleasure for example we tend behave in a way to avoid pain and/or to gain pleasure.
Cognitive behavioral therapy CBT is a combination of both cognitive and behavioral approaches. However, the emphasis is generally on the cognitive part.
The use of cognitive behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder will include things like:

• An explanation of social anxiety disorder.
• An explanation of how your thoughts affect how you feel and act.
• An explanation of the concept that the world is not the actual world itself, but your interpretation of it.
• How your thoughts/beliefs/opinions affect how you interpret the world around you.
• Exercises to reveal your own personal negative automatic thoughts NATs and self limiting or negative beliefs.
• Challenging negative automatic thoughts NATs and negative or self limiting beliefs to see if they have any basis in reality.
• Introducing positive thoughts and beliefs that will be helpful to you, in overcoming social anxiety.
• Exposure therapy; where you are increasingly exposed to situations which cause anxiety. The aim is that eventually your anxiety reduces to a level which allows you to function adequately.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is usually done one to one with a psychologist. It is a process which can take months. It does require a degree of effort and determination to make it work.