Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Social Phobia: Case Study

The problem of the performance anxiety in an individual with social anxiety has been well established in the literature. When anxiety is associated with an irrational fear of performing activities in the presence of other people or social interaction this is diagnosed as "social phobia." This paper presents a single case study of a 30-year-old male patient. It consist case history, assessment and intervention. Patient presenting complaints were hopelessness, worthlessness, sleep disturbance, low mood, feeling of inferiority, feeling of nervousness, hesitation and thought blocking during conversation with others, agitation, and examination anxiety. In case history racial discrimination in collage and constant academic failure is found as precipitating and maintaining factor of his problem. Patient's level of anxiety was assessed with "Hamilton anxiety rating scale, which indicated a high level of anxiety." Cognitive behavior therapy, modeling and relaxation training were given to achieve the goal of reduce anxiety, improve sleep, improve social interaction, teaching coping skills, changing in daily functioning and life style. After treatment program of 20 sessions all problems resolved and patient reported no anxiety in social situations. Intervention plan improved the confidence in the patient and reduced the social anxiety.