By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“The power of a mindfulness practice, however, may come in the realization that one can live a meaningful life even with social anxiety. [A participant], says that he still feels nervous in social situations but now feels compassion — not judgment — for himself, and sees that “I can be more the person I want to be.” – Jason Drwal
Everyone experiences occasional anxiety and that is normal. But, frequent or very high levels of anxiety can be quite debilitating. These are termed anxiety disorders and they are the most common psychological problem. In the U.S., they affect over 40 million adults, 18% of the population, with women accounting for 60% of sufferers One out of every three absences from work are caused by high levels of anxiety and it is the most common reason for chronic school absenteeism. In addition, people with an anxiety disorder are three-to-five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers, making it a major burden on the healthcare system.
It is almost a common human phenomenon that being in a social situation can be stressful and anxiety producing. This is particularly true when asked to perform in a social context such as giving a speech. Most people can deal with the anxiety and can become quite comfortable. But many do not cope well with the anxiety or the level of anxiety is overwhelming, causing the individual to withdraw. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and feeling embarrassed or humiliated by their actions. This fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other activities and may negatively affect the person’s ability to form relationships. SAD is the most common form of anxiety disorder occurring in about 7% of the U.S. population.
Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. Although, psychological therapy can be effective it is costly and only available to a small numbers of sufferers. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders including Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). There is a need, however, to investigate the effectiveness of different therapeutic techniques for anxiety disorders.
In today’s Research News article “Cognitive Mediators of Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder: Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.” See:
or below or view the full text of the study at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4842179/
Niles and colleagues compare the ability of two common and popular therapies for social anxiety disorder, one mindfulness based, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and one not, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Individuals with SAD were randomly assigned to receive ACT, CBT, or as a wait-list control. They were assessed for levels of social anxiety, anxiety during public speaking, experiential avoidance, depression, and quality of life before and after treatment and again 6 and 12 months later.
They found that both ACT and CBT were effective, significantly reducing the symptoms of social anxiety and that these reductions were still present 6 and 12 months later. They then compared the two treatments for the development of their effectiveness over the course of treatment. Both treatments significantly decreased both experiential avoidance and anxiety during public speaking, but ACT produced a more rapid decrease in both symptoms in the early stages of treatment whereas CBT produced a more rapid decrease in the later stages of treatment.
These are exciting findings. Both a therapy containing mindfulness training, ACT, and one that did not, CBT, were very effective for the treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), although having different profiles of improvement during the course of treatment. This suggests that there are two new viable treatments for this very prevalent disorder. Future research should investigate which treatment works best for different kinds of patients. Regardless, the results suggest that either ACT or CBT should be used to reduce social anxiety in highly anxious patients.
“instead of thinking, “I am so anxious. I will never get through this speech,” mindfulness would have you notice your anxiety with the thought, “Sometimes I have anxious feelings, but they are temporary. I know they will soon pass.” – Arlin Cuncic
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
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Study Summary
Niles, A. N., Burklund, L. J., Arch, J. J., Lieberman, M. D., Saxbe, D., & Craske, M. G. (2014). Cognitive Mediators of Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder: Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Behavior Therapy, 45(5), 664–677. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2014.04.006
Abstract
Objective: To assess the relationship between session-by-session mediators and treatment outcomes in traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for social anxiety disorder.
Method: Session-by-session changes in negative cognitions (a theorized mediator of CBT) and experiential avoidance (a theorized mediator of ACT) were assessed in 50 adult outpatients randomized to CBT (n = 25) or ACT (n= 25) for DSM-IV social anxiety disorder.
Results: Multilevel modeling analyses revealed significant nonlinear decreases in the proposed mediators in both treatments, with ACT showing steeper decline than CBT at the beginning of treatment and CBT showing steeper decline than ACT at the end of treatment. Curvature (or the nonlinear effect) of experiential avoidance during treatment significantly mediated posttreatment social anxiety symptoms and anhedonic depression in ACT, but not in CBT, with steeper decline of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire at the beginning of treatment predicting fewer symptoms in ACT only. Curvature of negative cognitions during both treatments predicted outcome, with steeper decline of negative cognitions at the beginning of treatment predicting lower posttreatment social anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Conclusions: Rate of change in negative cognitions at the beginning of treatment is an important predictor of change across both ACT and CBT, whereas rate of change in experiential avoidance at the beginning of treatment is a mechanism specific to ACT.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4842179/
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