ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the treatment model for social anxiety disorder (SAD) based on an accounting of the core maintaining factors for the disorder. The treatment model indicates that social apprehension is associated with unrealistic expectations regarding social standards and a deficiency for selecting specific and attainable social goals. This model of treatment is not only useful to therapists but also helps patients understand the purpose of the various treatment strategies. Individuals with SAD perceive social standards as high—they typically believe that the expectations of them in a social situation are elevated and that everybody else shares these same lofty social standards. Different techniques are used to manipulate and modify self-focused attention and self-perception. These include video feedback, audio feedback, mirror exposure, and group feedback. SAD is often characterized by two types of irrational beliefs that lead to an overestimation of the probability of social mishaps and an overestimation of the social cost of these mishaps.
