ABSTRACT
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) groups with children who are socially isolated or ostracized have rarely been studied for their utility. Evidence suggests that problems such as social anxiety are most effectively treated in group settings (Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, & Simon, 2004), and social skills training is nearly always completed utilizing other people as models to practice and generalize newly acquired skills (Segrin, 2003). CBT group therapy is an excellent adjunct to other therapeutic interventions, and has been shown to reduce social skill deficits in teenagers with a variety of other psychological disorders (Vickers, 2002). In one study, children with the primary diagnosis of social phobia participated in child-focused CBT groups, and relative to the control group, these children showed significant reductions in both social and general anxiety, which were maintained at a 12-month follow-up (Spence, Donovan, & Brechman-Toussaint, 2000). The researchers’ findings also included that fewer children retained the diagnosis of social phobia following treatment, and that there was a trend (though not statistically significant) toward better outcomes if parental involvement was included.
