Social Phobia

Social phobia is an anxiety disorder in which the person feels intense shame, worry, or fear in social interactions or performance situations. Children and adolescents with social phobia experience extreme fear of being in environments where people might observe and criticize them; encountering the feared social situation almost always leads to an anxiety attack, and avoidance behavior and functional impairment develop.

Children with social anxiety disorder may feel anxious when faced with social situations such as speaking in class at school, participating in group projects, or making new friends. Additionally, situations such as speaking in front of a group, eating, or doing something in front of others can also cause anxiety. These situations can negatively affect children’s normal lives and lead to social isolation.

It has been stated that the most common psychiatric disorder accompanying social phobia is mood disorders, especially major depressive disorder. In addition, the risk of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, alcohol use, and substance abuse is also increased in those with social phobia. Social anxiety is most frequently encountered during adolescence.

For adolescents, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a therapy method with high efficacy in anxiety disorders. Since the disorder inherently emerges in social environments, group therapies are thought to be effective because the group setting also provides a natural exposure environment. Group therapies appear beneficial in terms of providing more opportunities such as positive peer modeling, reinforcement, social support, and exposure to social situations for these individuals’ recovery. In situations where symptoms are intense and functional impairment is significant, medication treatment, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can be added to therapy.