Self-Compassion Enhanced CBT vs. Standard CBT for Social Anxiety (SCE-CBT)

A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Efficacy of Self-Compassion Enhanced CBT vs. Standard CBT for Social Anxiety

This study evaluates the addition of a self-compassion training in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. Half of the participants will receive a self-compassion enhanced group cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the other half will receive standard group cognitive-behavioral therapy.

There is growing evidence showing that shame is associated with social anxiety. Also, empirical data shows that individuals with social anxiety have higher levels of shame compared with healthy individuals and that shame might play an important role in the maintenance of social anxiety symptoms. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety seems to reduce the level of shame-proneness, the magnitude of this reduction is a small one.

The purpose of this study is to test whether adding a self-compassion component (which seems to be effective in reducing shame feelings) to a cognitive-behavioral protocol would increase the efficacy of the treatment in reducing both shame-proneness and social anxiety symptoms compared with a standard cognitive-behavioral intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• subjects diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorders using the DSM-5 criteria
• subjects that have SAD as the primary diagnosis according to DSM-5 criteria
• exceed the cutoff scores on SPIN, SIAS, and LSAS-SR

Exclusion Criteria:

• subjects that score over 29 points at BDI-II
• display suicidal ideation (i.e., exceed a score of 2 on the suicide item of BDI-II)
• undergo other forms of treatment for SAD
• have a diagnosis of psychosis, bipolar disorder or personality disorders according to DSM-5 criteria