Social phobia group
The Social Phobia Group is an open group offered to both inpatients and outpatients of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. The number of participants is limited to 8 and the course is comprised of 15 therapy sessions.
Therapeutic approaches include education of the disease as well as its therapeutic and pharmacological treatment options. Further sessions deal with cognitive therapy, guidance on exposure, the training of social and emotional competencies, and formulating a crisis plan for the prevention of relapse. In detail, the following points are covered:
- Description of the disease
- Explanation models and scientific theories of this disorder
- The latest treatment and therapy available (behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy)
- Creation of individual explanatory models and the definition of possible goals
- Reviewing and editing negative automatic thoughts and basic beliefs
- Reduction of typical social-phobia avoidance and safety behavior
- Preparation for exposure and behavioral experiments
- Training social and emotional skills
- Relapse prophylaxis: early warning symptoms, crisis plan, relapse prevention with medication
- How to deal with the disease in the social context