Cognitive behavioural psychotherapy in a case of social phobia
Emanuela Principe, Francesco Vincelli, Giovanni Capoderose
The article describes the conceptualisation and treatment, according to the cognitive model of Clark and Wells, (1995) in a case of social phobia, based on the self-regulation model of emotional vulnerability by Wells and Matthews (1994). The intervention took advantage of a psycho-educational phase, verbal re-attribution techniques, behavioural experiments, techniques to increase cognitive decentralisation and finally training in assertiveness and self-esteem. The article also highlights the most peculiar aspects of the therapeutic relationship. At the end of the treatment, the patient reported remission of symptoms with significant improvements. The results were also maintained at three and six months after the end of the intervention and confirm the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy in the treatment of social phobia.
Keywords
Behavioural experiments, Cognitive-behavioural therapy, Cognitive decentralisation,
Social Phobia, Verbal re-attribution
