Social fear is considered to be a form of social disorder wherein an individual tends to be in a state of anxiety when faced with a certain social situation. This kind of is said to emerge along with other psychological disorders such as depression (Jefferson, 2001). As of today, the cure for this kind of disorder is mainly through psychotheraphy and by medications which are usually considered as highly maintenance. Furthermore, one kind of psychotherapy, which is the so-called cognitive behavioral therapy, is regarded as the most common form of treatment for social phobia (Priyamvada, Kumari, Prakash, & Chaudhury, 2009). How is this treatment being done? How effective is the treatment? What are the requirements in order to proceed to this kind of treatment? This research study will not only answer these questions, but also to determine whether cognitive behavioral therapy is highly efficient for treating disorders such as social phobia.
Literature Review
First and foremost, it is important to know that social phobia is a different case compared to shyness; however, these two conditions commonly overlap one another. While shyness is a normal behavior, social phobia is considered to be a higher degree of the former. Moreover, shyness can be easily overcame through exposure to the social environment; on the other hand, social phobia is considered to be in another level, and medications and maintenance is highly recommended in this case (Burstein, Ameli-Grillon, & Merikangas, 2011).
Social phobia is relatively considered to be uncommon. According to Burstein, Ameli-Grillon, and Merikangas (2011), Only 12 percent of the individuals who are considered as shy are also socially fearing. In this study, several factors are considered, such as anxiety, mood, behavior, and substance use disorders. Each of the factors are considered equally significant for the determination of social fear.
In cultural aspects, the concept of social phobia is significantly related to the norms and standards which are set by the specific culture of a certain region. As a result, an individual who is considered as a newcomer to the place is considered to be at high risk of having a social fear, depending on how he will adjust with the cultural differences and the preexisting prejudice, which are evidently present in that society (Hofmann & Asnaani, 2010). Moreover, one of the main causes of social phobia is the fear of being embarrassed and humiliated in public. Such events will eventually lead to other social disorders such as extreme anxiety and panic, and the individual will be highly discouraged to interact with the community (Hofmann & Asnaani, 2011).
In terms of health, social phobia takes a long time to cure. Currently, the medications available to the public are highly non-specific, and these medications are just recommendations without proven positive therapeutic effects (Toth, Neumann, & Slattery, 2012). In some circumstances, physicians fail to determine the gravity, or even the existence of social phobia in their patients, unless a thorough investigation will be done. In such cases, patients are becoming more consumed with their disorder, which eventually leads a more extreme condition called avoidant personality disorder, which is associated with a highly negative personality with social inhibitions and feeling of emptiness (Jefferson, 2001).
As such, this paper will focus on a certain psychological treatment called the cognitive behavior therapy, wherein the treatment includes exposure to social situations and the patients will be taught how to deal with these circumstances. Along the treatment process, the patient, according to Priyamvada, Kumari, Prakash, and Chaudhury (2009), will be able to develop his social skills and his way of thinking about his surroundings and community will change from negative to positive. This study will determine the effectiveness of this method, as well as the process in which an individual is being developed.
Methods
Data will be gathered via random survey of patients who have undergone cognitive behavior therapy in order to eliminate social phobia. The patients, which will consist of 25 males and females, regardless of age, will be randomly selected through a certain database in a clinical. The patietns will answer the survey questions which will be provided by the researcher. In order to gain access to these samples, a formal letter request will be provided by the researchers to the clinic in which the sample population will be gathered. The procedure will be done in order to determine if age and gender has significance for the treatment. In terms of age, the study will determine if the modern psychotherapeutical treatment will have greater impact either in child, adolescent or adults. The same way can be said on the gender variable.
Ethical Considerations
One possible ethical issue which might be faced by the group will be the issue of confidentiality. Since social phobia is a psychological disorder, the individual might not be open to disclose the information about his condition. Moreover, trust will be a big question for them since the researchers will be a complete stranger to them. However, their decisions upon this issue will always be prioritized and respected. For that, informed consent will be used for the study. Anything they wanted to know will be answered honestly. This for the purpose of gaining their trust. Moreover, their condition pertains to the interaction with the people in their community. As such, it is important to consider their condition in order to get a positive response from them. The most important thing to consider in this study is to obtain honest answers from the survey questionnaire that will be provided for them.
References
Burstein, M., Ameli-Grillon, L., and Merkangas, K. (2011). Shyness Versus Social Phobia in US Youth. Pediatrics, 128(5), 917-925.
Hofmann, S., and Asnaani, A. (2010). Cultural Aspects in Social Anxiety and Social Anxiety Disorder. Depression Anxiety, 27(12), 1117-1127.
Jefferson, J. (2001). Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just a Little Shyness. Primary Care Companion Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 3(1), 4-9.
Priyamvada, R., Kumari, S., Prakash, J., and Chaudhury, S. (2009). Cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of social phobia. Industrial Psychiatry, 18(1), 60-63.
Toth, I., Neumann, I., and Slattery, D. (2012). Social fear conditioning: a novel and specific animal model to study social anxiety disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 37(6), 1433- 1443.
