One-Session Exposure Treatment for Social Anxiety With Specific Fear of Public Speaking

Abstract

Objectives: This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of one-session, exposure-based therapy, to treat social anxiety disorder (SAD) with specific fear of public speaking. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-posttest design with repeated measures-within-subject Analysis of Variance and paired sample t-tests was used to compare pretest, posttest and one month follow-up scores. Individuals (n = 32), from 18 to 51 years old, 75% women, participated in three hours of graduated exposure to group public speaking exercises followed by homework between post and follow-up. Results: Significant changes were found from pre- to posttest and pretest to follow-up for all measures. No differences were found from posttest to follow-up. Conclusions: Advantages of brief treatment for SAD, limitations of the study, and implications for practice and future research are discussed.