Exposure Therapy in the Brief Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

Research on Social phobia (stage) and its treatment, particularly using exposure therapy emphasizes reducing symptoms. However, this case study is to highlight the social anxiety disorder’s intervention. A single subject case study research design was used. A formal and informal assessment was conducted on a female client who is 22 years old. Formal assessments include the Human Figure Drawing (HFD) test, APA DSM-5 Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder for Adults and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Informal assessment includes client history taking, clinical interview, behavioral observation and mental status examination. Analyses lead to the diagnosis of 300.23 (F40.10) Social Anxiety Disorder. There were eight sessions that lasted forty-five minutes apiece. The findings showed that treating negative beliefs leads to improvements in the emotional and behavioral aspects of social situations, and that exposure therapy is a successful treatment strategy for social anxiety disorder