Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety Therapy
Social anxiety is not shyness. It is the constant, exhausting work of monitoring how you are coming across, then reviewing the footage for hours afterward.
What This Can Look Like
If several of these sound familiar, you are in exactly the right place. None of them need to be severe to be worth bringing to a session.
- Rehearsing before phone calls or ordinary conversations
- Replaying interactions and cataloguing mistakes
- Declining invitations you actually wanted to accept
- Physical symptoms such as flushing, shaking, a racing heart
- Feeling watched and evaluated in ordinary rooms
How We Work on This Together
Understanding the Spotlight
Social anxiety runs on the belief that everyone is watching closely. We test that belief against what actually happens.
Gradual, Chosen Exposure
We build a ladder of situations you choose, starting well within reach and moving up at your pace. Nothing gets sprung on you.
Ending the Post-Mortem
The review after the event often does more damage than the event. We work directly on interrupting it.
Approaches I Draw From
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Gradual exposure planning
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Mindfulness-Based practices
Sessions are held online over a confidential, HIPAA-compliant platform and are available to residents anywhere in North Carolina.
Questions People Ask
- Will you make me do things I am not ready for?
- No. You set the pace and you choose every step.
- Does online therapy help social anxiety?
- Many clients find starting from home makes it possible to begin at all.
- Is this the same as introversion?
- No. Introversion is a preference. Social anxiety is fear, and it responds well to treatment.