The Effectiveness of a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapeutic Program Delivered Online in Reducing Social Anxiety Symptoms

Abstract

Social anxiety is one of the anxiety disorders that strongly interferes with daily life, having a high prevalence rate among the general population. Although it has a vast number of untoward side effects, it is well known that a small percentage of people with anxiety disorder require or benefit from the treatment of this disorder. Cognitive-behavioral therapy managed through the Internet is a modern intervention technique for social phobia. The trial detailed in this work investigates the efficiency of an online intervention for the reduction of social anxiety-related symptoms. After the first evaluation, 76 people were diagnosed with social anxiety and they have been randomly placed into two groups: the experimental group, receiving active treatment, and the control group, which was considered as a waiting list, mainly because after the study had been finished, these participants got the active treatment as well. Out of the entire study, in this article, we will present only the evolution of the social anxiety level of these participants, after the treatment modules had been applied during the program. Similar studies done in Sweden, Australia and Switzerland support the efficacy of the cognitive-behavioral interventions applied online. Therefore, this study contributes to the consolidation of knowledge, regarding the efficacy of online interventions for the reduction of social anxiety, also forming an additional argument for the growth of online treatment accessibility in Romania.