Online Therapy for Social Anxiety: Does It Really Work?
Could online therapy be the perfect treatment for people who suffer from social anxiety disorder? We’ll show you the latest surprising facts as well as what your best options are when it comes to online counseling. Let’s get started…
What is Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety is the constant fear and / or feelings of being judged negatively by others, which often leads to feelings of depression, inadequacy, embarrassment, inferiority and humiliation.
What Triggers Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety can be caused and triggered by many different environmental factors and stressful experiences. Stressful events, experiences and traumas during childhood could cause the development of social anxiety disorder as well as other social anxiety issues. A few of the more common experiences responsible for these disorders are physical, sexual, and emotional abuse — especially during childhood.
Can it be Cured? Will it ever go away?
Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, tends to be a long term and somewhat overwhelming fear of social environments and situations. It’s a fairly common problem for many people, which normally begins during the early teenage years. For some people it can get better and even resolve itself altogether when they get older, but for most people it doesn’t just clear up on its own.
It can Improve with treatment!
There are many different treatments and approaches to dealing with social anxiety, one of the most common is CBT. According to the ADAA, CBT is now the leading treatment for social anxiety and other social disorders. (Source)
The NIMH also agrees that CBT is now one of the leading treatments and possibly the most effective treatment for social anxiety disorders. (Source)
What is CBT?
CBT, short for cognitive behavioral therapy, is a recent type of psychological practice that has shown to be effective for a wide range of mental issues, such as social anxiety, depression, alcohol and substance abuse issues, eating disorders, marital problems, and even some more severe mental illnesses.
There is a lot of recent research that suggests that CBT can lead to a significant improvement in peoples quality of life and ability to function normally throughout the day. In some of these studies, CBT has even shown to be even more effective than many other types of psychological therapy as well as medication.
CBT treatments will generally involve a strategic effort to alter a subject’s daily thinking patterns. Some of these techniques may include:
1 - Getting a better realization of the motivation and actions of other people.
2 - Learning how to understand your own distorted thinking pattern which are simply causing the problems, and then to see them for what they really are and let them go.
3 - Discovering how you can develop a better sense of confidence in yourself and your actions.
4 - Learning how you can use problem solving tools to help you easily cope with difficult situations.
5 - Practicing methods to calm your mind as well as relax the body.
6 - Learning to face your fears, instead of simply avoiding them or trying to push them away.
7 - Practicing with role playing games to help to be prepared for any challenging interactions with other people that you might encounter.
How Long Does a CBT Session Typically Last?
When CBT is the suggested type of treatment, you will typically have a session with your therapist at least once per week (possibly every other week after you’ve been in treatment for a while). The general length of CBT treatment will normally last for anywhere from as few as five to as many as twenty sessions. CBT sessions will normally last between thirty to sixty minutes per week.
Is Online CBT Treatment as Effective as Face to Face CBT?
In a word, yes! In a recent study, it was shown that online CBT was not only as effective as face to face sessions, but in some cases more effective.
A study titled “Internet-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy vs. Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Non-inferiority Trial.” (Erik Hedman, Gerhard Andersson, Brjann Ljotsson, Erik Andersson, Christian Ruck, Ewa Mortberg, Nils Lindefors. (2011)
PLoS ONE 6(3): e18001.) - studied one hundred twenty six individuals, with half enrolled in online therapy while the other half were enrolled in face to face CBT.
The individuals is the above study had all been dealing with social anxiety disorder, and at the conclusion of the study it was shown that both groups of test subjects had not only improved significantly, but that when they were interviewed more than six months after the study both groups had maintained their positive results after the study was completed. The study concluded that “[online] ICBT may be at least as effective as [face-to-face] CBGT.”
Online Therapy and Counseling
Online therapy has now been shown to have a tremendous effect in treating most of the the most common symptoms of social anxiety disorder. It’s perfect for treating:
Social Anxiety
If you often feel isolated, or that it feels awkward or difficult to state your opinions in front of other people, this could be you. Social anxiety disorder has a tendency to put up barriers which stop us from being free and at ease and living the lives we really want. An effective program of online social anxiety therapy will often include CBT therapy. By understanding and practicing the highly effective skills of CBT, you can start to live a life free of social anxiety.
Stress, Anxiety & Worry
Painful feelings of anxiety, worry and stress are estimated to affect up to thirty percent of the population every year. It may sometimes feel impossible to stop the cycle of worry and negative thoughts. Online counseling can help you to begin a healthy program to help you overcome your anxiety issues and start your life free anxiety and worry.
Insomnia
Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Do you have trouble staying asleep and sleeping through the entire night? Do you ever lay awake at night, fighting to get back to sleep? If you do, then online counseling and social anxiety treatment online may be for you. You can learn how to use those restless feelings to actually help you sleep better, all night long. You’ll learn the tools and skills to let go and release all of that stress and anxiety that keep you awake at night.
Depression
It is currently estimated that depression now affects about ten percent of the population every year. While the root causes of depression may be different than the causes and triggers of anxiety, Online counseling professionals have several programs specifically targeted for people with depression. These utilize the same proven CBT techniques to help you to alter your negative thought patterns and behaviors.
Is Online Therapy Better than Face to Face Therapy?
Online counseling has many distinct advantages over traditional, face to face treatment. Just a few of them are:
You Can Talk to Someone Right Now.
While with face to face counseling, you have to set up an appointment weeks ahead of time, and you can only speak with your therapist during your one scheduled hour per week, that’s not the case with online therapy.
With online counseling you can talk to a licensed therapist right now. You can have extra sessions per week, ask questions whenever you need and get help whenever you need it — often 24 hours a day. No need to wait for your one weekly session.
Get Help from Real Licensed Professionals
Just like enrolling in face to face counseling, you’ll only be dealing with real licensed professionals in online therapy. You receive the same high level of professional counseling and treatment — without even having to leave your home.
It’s Cost Effective
Unlike high priced face to face counseling, online counseling is much less expensive. While it can cost you $75 to $150 per session on average for in person counseling, some therapists even charge as much as $200 or more per visit.
On the other hand, most online counseling platforms charge only a fraction of what traditional therapists charge — while you’re still getting professional treatment by a licensed therapist.
Online Therapy is On Your Schedule
Instead of having to book an appointment for a week or more ahead of time, and having to work your appointment around your busy schedule (often during the middle of the work week) — online therapy is far more convenient.
You can schedule your therapy sessions on nights, weekends or whenever it’s convenient for you. Plus, with most online counseling platforms you can easily book, cancel and reschedule your appointments easily and on short notice.
Convenience of Counseling at Home
With online therapy there’s no need to worry about getting cleaned up and ready for your appointment. No need to do your hair and makeup, get in the car and deal with traffic and rush to get to your therapist’s office on time.
With online treatment you can get real counseling from the convenience of home — in your pajamas if you like.
Online Therapy is More Private and Confidential
Another benefit of online counseling is that it’s far more confidential that in person counseling, it fact it’s almost anonymous! While you still get all of the benefits of a professional therapist who understands you and your personal issues, they can be located across the country.
Depending on the platform, they may have your name and state information, but they don’t know what you look like, which makes some people much more comfortable when opening up to their therapist — which can also give some people much better results.
Think about this: You’ll never have to worry about the awkwardness of running into your therapist when you least expect it.
Plus, if for some reason you don’t really like your therapist, you can easily change to a new therapist without having to deal with any embarrassment or awkward situations.
Social Anxiety & Online Therapy: What are Your Options?
As more and more people are beginning to see the benefits of online therapy, there are more and more platforms springing up all the time. These days there are a few different online therapy platforms that you can choose from. We’ll cover the platforms that are not only the most well known, but also the platforms that are the most professional and respected in the industry.
Possibly the leader in online counseling, Online Therapy offers your own professional licensed therapist who live chat, messages, and more. You’ll receive a one on one live chat session for 30 minutes per week, as well as unlimited messaging with your therapist to handle any questions you may have or other issues that might arise.
I have also arranged for 20% off your first month of counseling for my readers, simply sign up through this link. Thanks to Online Therapy for the discount!
Definitely a great choice for online counseling, Calmerry is one of the leading online therapy platforms today. They allow you unlimited messaging with your therapist 24 hours a day, and they also feature optional on demand video counseling sessions with your personal therapist.
Their platform is simple to use, and their web site is secured and HIPAA compliant. That means that all of your counseling sessions are kept 100% safe and confidential.
Recently, a poll of Calmerry’s clients showed that 88% of people found Calmerry to be as effective if not more effective than traditional therapy. And 95% of them found anxiety counseling online to be far more convenient than traditional, face to face therapy.
They’ve generously offered to give all of my readers 30% off of your first month if you sign up through this link.
Talkspace
Talkspace is well known in the industry as being a leader in online counseling and therapy. This may be due in large part to their wide reaching advertising campaigns. They feature an easy to use front end, competitive pricing, plenty of good reviews online from people who have used their counseling platform. They have now helped over 1 million clients worldwide, and are a good choice for anyone with social anxiety to at least try their service.
Betterhelp
Another well known and much advertised platforms, Betterhelp has become a much used online counseling service. While I can say that it boasts one of the more intuitive platforms of all of the various platforms that I’ve tested, it is a bit more expensive than the above two platforms.
Some of the benefits of the Betterhelp platform is that it matches you with the best and most relevant therapist based on your answers to it’s screening questionnaire. From what I’ve read online when I was first researching Betterhelp, most people seem to be happy with the therapists that they were matched with. If for any reason you decide that you don’t like your therapist for whatever reason, you can easily change to a new therapist without any issues.
Betterhelp’s counseling consists of live online chats, live video chats and phone sessions, and all of their plans include unlimited chatting with your therapist. Their counselors consist of psychologists, social workers, and family counseling professionals, and all of their counselors must be licensed and accredited by their state.
Betterhelp counselors must also have a Doctorate or at least a Master’s degree as well as two thousand hours of experience and have practiced in their state for a minimum of three years. It’s safe to say that Betterhelp’s counselors are professionals in their respective fields.
Sean Cooper’s Social Anxiety Program
While not an online counseling program, worth a mention is Sean Cooper’s social anxiety program. His program has helped thousands of people to relieve many of their social anxiety issues through his techniques which are sort “brain hacks”, which are designed to sort of short circuit the parts of the brain that are responsible for your social anxiety disorders. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s pretty inexpensive, at only $47 one time fee for the course itself.
How Most Online Therapy Services Work
All of the different online counseling platforms vary a bit in how they operate and how the communication between you and your therapist is handled. Many of these platforms are similar to face to face counseling except that they’re conducted through online chat rooms, video chats or phone calls.
These will normally be via thirty minute to one hour (depending on the platform) sessions when it’s convenient to your schedule. Some platforms may have a limit on how many messages are exchanges, while other will offer unlimited messaging.
Many of the online chat rooms are encrypted and secured rooms that only you and your therapist have access to. While you can leave a message for your therapist at any time, they may or may not get back to you right away. Depending upon the therapist and the platform, you may get to message back and forth a few times a day, or the therapist may just respond to your questions once per day.
While the chat messaging varies from platform to platform, almost all online therapy platforms offer some sort of live one on one counseling. As mentioned above, these will typically be either live chat session, video conferencing or phone conferencing.
Being that there are several quality and professional online counseling services available today, it’s not a bad idea to try more than one out and go with whichever one seems to work best for you. Whether you go with Online Therapy, Calmerry, Talkspace, Betterhelp or any other platform, keep in mind that the service should be very beneficial over time. Simply put, both anxiety counseling online and in person take time.
While it’s important to give counseling some time before you start to see some improvement in your social anxiety symptoms, there’s no need to stick with a service that doesn’t seem to be benefiting you after a while. As I mentioned above, there are plenty of services, and no reason not to move along to another one that may serve you better.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck and be patient with your treatment.
