Childhood Shyness Study

The Childhood Shyness study is offering free treatment children ages 7 to 12 who suffer from a severe form of shyness known as Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder. Children who suffer from Social Phobia experience intense anxiety during ordinary forms of social interaction. For example, they may be very fearful when they have to meet new people or talk in class, or very embarrassed doing ordinary things in public, such as eating or writing. Left untreated, Social Phobia can interfere with daily social life. Moreover, research shows that if not treated in childhood, Social Phobia tends to become more difficult to treat in adulthood.

Here's how the study works

Children who participate in the study are provided 12 weeks of Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children (SET-C), where they work one-on-one with a therapist who designs tasks to help them deal with their social difficulties. Group social skills training and individual therapy sessions are part of the treatment program. During some sessions, participate in community activities with other "shy" children and "non-shy" peers. In a previous study that used SET-C, 70% of the children had significantly improved social functioning after 12 weeks of treatment.

The goal of our program is to help children with Social Phobia, therefore, if a child has not improved at the end of the program, staff will discuss other options of treatment with the family. Parents at this time may choose to continue behavioral treatment with one of our clinicians or pursue a referral for continued treatment elsewhere.