ABSTRACT
The terms social phobia and generalized social anxiety disorder are used interchangeably in the literature and their usage in this chapter is consistent with the convention. The development of the cognitive model was prompted by a number of puzzling features in respect to social phobia. In contrast to other phobic reactions that tended to habituate in response to prolonged, repeated exposures, social phobia often persisted and became more intense despite countless, unavoidable social encounters where feared catastrophes repeatedly failed to occur. Interpersonal psychotherapy (ITP) is based on the premise that emotional disorders reflect specific difficulties in the individual's interpersonal and social context. The remainder of this chapter focuses on clinical interventions with the socially anxious client. As these experiences are re-visited, clients become able to identify the core beliefs and the assumptions these gave rise to, and to weave these into a more comprehensive, developmental formulation of their social anxiety disorder.
