Introduction
On June 29th, 2023, Dr. Jennifer Wild delivered a full-day workshop on cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder. This on-demand workshop is a recording of that presentation.
Workshop Outline
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a chronic and disabling anxiety disorder. People with SAD fear they will do or say something that will be embarrassing or humiliating, and that others will notice and think badly of them. As a result, they tend to avoid a range of social and performance situations, such as job interviews, speaking up in meetings or lectures, eating in public, attending parties, dating or talking to people in authority. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this extended to avoidance of online meetings, and for some, reaching out to friends. Unsurprisingly, SAD is associated with under-achievement and high rates of depression. Whilst social anxiety begins in adolescence, treatment is typically sought in one’s mid-thirties, resulting in years of distress. Social anxiety is the strongest predictor of school dropout and for adults, alcohol and drug problems. Competently identifying and treating SAD with cognitive therapy can help individuals engage in a life they would like to be living and lead to significant improvement in the beliefs they hold of themselves.
This workshop focuses on why, how and when to treat social anxiety disorder. This workshop will cover assessment and differential diagnosis, case formulation and the key cognitive therapy components of Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder based on the Clark & Wells (1995) model, the leading treatment for SAD recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Treatment interventions will include awareness of self-focused attention and safety behaviours, video and still feedback, attention training, behavioural experiments, surveys, and memory work.
Content
Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Assess SAD and make differential diagnoses
2. Conduct the core components of cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder
3. Conduct efficient remote sessions of cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder
4. Weave work on negative self-beliefs with behavioural experiments to generate significant change
5. Determine when, how and why to update socially traumatic memories linked to negative images
About the Presenter
Dr. Jennifer Wild is Professor of Military Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She holds affiliate status at the University of Oxford where she developed evidence-based interventions to prevent PTSD and depression in emergency workers. Her area of expertise is in developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions for anxiety and stress disorders, and in developing preventative interventions for people at risk of trauma, such as emergency responders and military members. Dr. Wild developed an innovative CBT technique for updating distressing images linked to memories tied to the onset of social anxiety. This technique is now part of Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder, recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a first-line treatment for the disorder. Dr Wild has over 70 publications, including book chapters, and a recently published popular science book on resilience: Be Extraordinary: 7 Key Skills to Transform Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Her latest book, Shortcuts: Psychology, covers the 50 biggest ideas in psychology. Dr Wild regularly appears in the media giving advice rooted in science on how to overcome anxiety.
Training Modalities
This workshop will include a range of teaching methods: slides, videos and experiential exercises.
Who should attend
This workshop is most suitable for practitioners experienced in cognitive behaviour therapy, and practitioners who treat people with social anxiety disorder.
Continuing Education (CE) Credits
Bespoke Mental Health Canada is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Bespoke Mental Health Canada maintains responsibility for the program.
After viewing this workshop, participants have the option to complete an evaluation form and a workshop knowledge quiz in order to be eligible to receive a certificate confirming the number of credits awarded. This certificate will be sent via email.
Participants who complete this workshop, submit a completed evaluation form, and score a minimum of 8/10 on a content-related quiz are eligible to receive 5.5 CE credits
Fees
Professionals: $175 CAD + tax
Students*: $140 CAD + tax
* Proof of student status may be required in order to qualify for a student rate.
Key References
Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In Heimberg, G., Liebowitz, M. R., Hope, D. & Scheier, F. (eds), Social Phobia: Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment (pp. 69–93). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2013). Social Anxiety Disorder: Recognition, Assessment and Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder Clinical Guideline 159. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg159/resources/social-anxiety-disorder-recognition-assessment-and-treatment-pdf-35109639699397 Google Scholar
Warnock-Parkes, E. L., Wild, J., Stott, R., Grey, N., Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2017). Seeing is believing: Using video feedback in cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder. Cognitive and Behavioural Practice, 24, 245–255
Warnock-Parkes, E., Wild, J., Thew, G., Kerr, A., Grey, N., Stott, R., Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2020). Treating social anxiety disorder remotely with cognitive therapy. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 13, E30.
Warnock-Parkes, E., Wild, J., Thew, G., Kerr, A., Grey, N., & Clark, D. (2022). ‘I’m unlikeable, boring, weird, foolish, inferior, inadequate’: How to address the persistent negative self-evaluations that are central to social anxiety disorder with cognitive therapy. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 15, E56. doi:10.1017/S1754470X22000496
Wild, J., & Clark, D. M. (2011). Imagery rescripting of early traumatic memories in social phobia. Cognitive Behavioural Practice, 18, 433–443.