Social Anxiety Therapy
Our therapists in Cincinnati and Indianapolis are ready to help you with social anxiety.
We Can Help You With Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is a normal part of life. It can include feeling tense, nervous, or scared before a performance or new situation involving other people. Some experience more intense, persistent distress that interferes with their life in important ways. Social anxiety can look like persistent fears about making mistakes, public speaking, conversations with unfamiliar people, eating in front of others, being the center of attention, dating, or worrying that others will notice blushing or shaky hands. People with social anxiety disorder experience an excessive amount of fear about these things and avoid the situations that cause anxiety. This interferes with life by keeping people from important parts of life like dating, going to school, getting a promotion, enjoying social experiences and connection with others. Social anxiety is maintained by a cycle of fear – avoidance – short-term relief – followed by long-term fear. What seems to help in the short-term makes the problem worse over time. We can work together to break the cycle and build skills and confidence to more fully engage with life and people around you. This guide explains social anxiety and the treatments that can help you thrive.
Social Anxiety Challenges
Fear of Negative Evaluation
- Negative self-perception
- Overestimating judgements of others
Avoidance and Safety Behaviors
- Limiting social contact
- Using avoidance to manage anxiety (i.e. avoiding eye contact, leaving early, etc.)
- Relying on safety behaviors to cope with social situations (i.e. rehearsing conversations, use of alcohol, etc.)
Excessive
Self Focus
- Inward focus during social interactions (self-monitoring)
- Lack of present-moment engagement
- Missing social cues
Physical Symptoms
- Catastrophizing normal anxiety sensations
- Preoccupation with physical discomfort
- Fears of drawing attention from others (i.e. blushing, shaky voice or hands)
Rumination
- Self-criticism
- Focus on perceived mistakes
- Excessive time spent analyzing social interactions after they occurred
- Assuming negative judgments made by others
Low Self Confidence
- Lack of social skills
- Limited practice socializing
- Self-doubt
- Underestimating social skills
Effective Treatments for Social Anxiety
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Identify automatic thoughts and challenge cognitive distortions that maintain social anxiety.
- Develop a more balanced interpretation of social situations.
- Increase emotional tolerance for anxious thoughts and sensations.
- Learn about anxiety symptoms and reduce fear of the symptoms themselves.
- Prepare for exposure to social situations by learning how anxiety naturally peaks and falls during exposure.
- Build an exposure hierarchy and practice structured exposure exercises.
- Gradually reduce avoidance and eliminate safety behaviors.
- Practice increasingly challenging social situations to build skills and confidence.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Break the cycle of control and rebound anxiety by practicing acceptance.
- Learn to see thoughts as thoughts, not truths using cognitive defusion.
- Expand present-moment awareness with mindfulness.
- Create psychological distance from shame by developing an observer self.
- Clarify values to increase motivation for meaningful living over fear reduction.
- Engage in committed action to reduce avoidance and move forward with anxiety.
Take the Next Step with Support for Anxiety
We want to help you create an individualized roadmap (a ThriveMap!) to get CLEAR DIRECTION on how you can achieve your goals and overcome your challenges.
1
Understand the Problem
2
Choose Treatment Targets
3
Create an
Action Plan
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Anxiety Therapy
What is it like to work with our social anxiety therapists in the Indianapolis and Cincinnati areas?
We believe the connection with your therapist and having clear guidance about the treatment and therapeutic process are critical for a great therapy experience, that’s why we promise our clients Remarkable Connection and Clear Direction. Your unique needs and expectations matter to us as we work together to help you accomplish your goals. Here’s a snapshot of the ThrivePointe® experience.
1. Build a Strong Therapeutic Relationship
Team up with a therapist who strives to deeply understand your experience and expertly guide you through the process of making changes.
2. Understand the Problem
Develop a clear picture of your problem, including your personal history, symptoms, triggers, and the ways your life is impacted.
3. Create an Action Plan
Using evidence-based approaches, design an individualized plan to achieve your goals.
4. Implement New Skills & Solutions
Get the right balance of support and challenge to make life and relationship changes.
5. Track Your Progress To Do What Works
Make sure therapy is helping by monitoring improvements and refining your action plan.
6. Achieve Your Goals
Experience the Satisfaction of working hard to see positive changes and growth in your life!
When you experience anxiety and worry, it’s natural to feel uncomfortable and want to get rid of those feelings as quickly as possible! When unpleasant anxiety sensations pop up you might think things like, “Oh no! I shouldn’t feel this way! I have to make this stop! I can’t stand it!” Then worry kicks in to protect you from feeling this way again and a lot of energy goes into putting those thoughts, feelings, and sensations out of mind and find ways to distract or get reassurance. Unfortunately, that often creates a pattern of avoidance and distraction that leads to more anxiety and worry over time. Sarah helps clients learn to distinguish between worry that is helpful and worry that causes distress; noticing the difference between a signal to problem solve, prepare, or take action, versus a “worry without an action plan” cycle or fixation with gaining certainty and getting things just right. Sarah helps you make connections about what experiences, beliefs (like, “I can’t handle this!”), and patterns have contributed to persistent anxiety. You can gain insight about what’s happening, learn about the cycle of anxiety, and explore new ways of moving through these feelings so you feel more peace and resilience over time.
What does social anxiety counseling look like?
We equip clients to face social anxiety so you finish therapy more confident and engaged with the people in your life. One of those resources is the “Be Your Own Cognitive Therapist” tool. It’s a structured way to catch, evaluate, and change anxious thoughts in real time. Social anxiety is driven by automatic, negative predictions like, “I’ll look so stupid,” “I don’t know what I’m doing,” or “Everyone is going to see my hands shake.” The BYOCT tool helps slow things down and interrupt unhelpful cycles of fear, negative assumptions, and avoidance.
Our therapists help clients target several core maintaining factors in social anxiety so you can see a real difference over time.
- Cognitive distortions → corrected through evidence review
- Catastrophic predictions → tested in real life
- Low confidence → replaced with evidence-based learning
- Rumination → replaced with structured reflection
Want to Learn More About Social Anxiety Therapy
in Ohio or Indiana?
We want to make finding counseling for social anxiety in Cincinnati and Indianapolis easy.
To get started with an anxiety therapist, just follow these three steps:
- Find a therapist on our Team page.
- Call 833-914-4688 to make an appointment.
- Start making progress on your goals!
More ThrivePointe® Counseling Services Near Cincinnati and Indianapolis
As a practice, we value treating the whole family’s needs. So, at our various ThrivePointe® locations in Indianapolis, Greenwood, Blue Ash and Liberty Township, we can serve you. We provide adult counseling, couples counseling, child counseling and play therapy, teen counseling, family counseling and Christian counseling. Our team cares about you and wants to be a part of your thriving life. Learn more and call us today!