Dr. Richard G. Heimberg: Social Anxiety Disorder

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

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Despite anxiety in social situations being a fairly normative experience, we know that the symptoms and disability associated with social anxiety disorder can be very life-limiting when it comes to important aspects of life such as establishing a romantic relationship, professional advancement and overall quality of life. Internationally recognized expert on cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder, Dr. Richard G. Heimberg, joins us for an in-depth discussion in which we cover:

• what social anxiety disorder is and how it affects people
• an evolutionary lens on social anxiety disorder
• the developmental experiences that might predispose someone towards social anxiety disorder
• temperament & genetic factors associated with development of social anxiety disorder
• prevalence rate across gender
• features of social anxiety disorder to be aware of that don’t necessarily fall within the diagnostic framework but that would nonetheless be useful for clinicians to keep in mind
• challenges related to differential diagnoses including shame/social withdrawal in depression and avoidant personality disorder
• subtypes of social anxiety disorder
• barriers to accessing treatment for clients with social anxiety disorder (e.g., managing the first contact with the clinician)
• the current gold standard psychotherapeutic treatment for social anxiety disorder
• individual vs. group therapy for social anxiety disorder
• comorbidity with substance use disorders
• medication in the overall treatment of social anxiety disorder, including specific implementation within the context of psychotherapy
• the special concern around "Zoomers" and social anxiety owing to increased screen time, social isolation (especially during COVID)
• what is cutting edge in the current understanding and treatment of social anxiety disorder

Rick Heimberg, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder. He is the Thaddeus L. Bolton Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Temple University, where he founded and directed a specialty social anxiety clinic, and he was previously Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University at Albany of the State University of New York. He is past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology. He is a recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, and the Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association, as well as awards from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the American Society for Group Work, Temple University, and from Florida State University (where he earned his doctoral degree in 1977). Together with his colleagues, postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral students, he has published more than 500 articles, chapters, and books on understanding and treating anxiety, including Managing Social Anxiety: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach, which was released in its third edition in November 2019 (coauthored with Debra Hope and Cynthia Turk). Dr. Heimberg has also been widely recognized for his commitment to the education and training of doctoral students in clinical psychology. He received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and similar awards from the Society of Clinical Psychology, the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students.