Although often mistaken for introversion or being shy, social anxiety is a difficulty that can significantly affect the lives of those suffering.
Symptoms of social anxiety can include feelings of worry, dread, and physical anxiety at the thought of social situations.
Social anxiety can also lead to feelings of depression.
For those struggling with social anxiety, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) can be extremely beneficial. In fact, a recent study showed that CBT can lead to a reduction of social anxiety symptoms, and a decrease in negative self-beliefs.
With CBT therapy in Newcastle with one of our psychologists, you can begin to confront your negative thoughts, and overcome the feelings of anxiety that get in the way on a day to day basis.
How CBT Therapy Can Help
Whether your social anxiety is connected to certain situations, or is a deep-seated fear of rejection, CBT for social anxiety aims to help understand the cause of your anxiety and help you overcome its symptoms.
Through a number of different techniques, our CBT therapists in Newcastle can help to you manage anxious feelings, and get through social situations without feeling overwhelmed.
CBT Techniques for Social Anxiety
CBT contains a number of techniques to help social anxiety, which are then tailored to your specific problem. Commonly used CBT techniques for social anxiety include:
- Cognitive Restructuring
As social anxiety is often caused by negative thoughts about yourself, other people’s judgements or what’s happening, cognitive restructuring is an important part of helping you overcome your anxiety.
The technique involves challenging negative thoughts, and replacing them with more rational beliefs that empower you rather than create anxiety.
- Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation involves helping you understand your social anxiety, so that you can see how and why this developed.
Many of our problems often develop out of a need to try to fix a problem – it’s normal to worry what people think about us but this can become problematic if it gets in the way of our daily life.
Within CBT therapy sessions, a collaborative relationship is built up between client and therapist, in order to establish effective outcomes and help you beat your social anxiety.
- Learning New Behaviours
As well as challenging negative thoughts, CBT can help you change the way you respond to situations.
This might be small changes in your posture to create more confidence, or changes in the way you breathe or move to help you feel more empowered.
Our CBT therapists can help you to improve your self-confidence, and provide you with the opportunity to rehearse social interactions and develop new and better habits in a safe space.
Contact us about CBT for Social Anxiety
To access CBT in Newcastle (or online) for your social anxiety, fill in the form below, or call us on 07966645198 to speak to a member of our team today.
Best wishes,
Dr Stuart Sadler
Lead Clinical Psychologist
