Anxiety Disorders 285
Treating Social Phobia
Various forms of treatment are effective for social phobia; each one targets neuro-
logical, psychological, or social factors, but will affect the other types of factors.
Ultimately, the success of any form of treatment is refl ected in diminished social
fears and avoidance. Unfortunately, none of the treatments described here had been
suffi ciently developed when Hughes’s symptoms were at their apex.
7.8 • Feedback Loops in Action: Social Phobia
Figure 7.8g7Brain SystemsNeural Communication GeneticsStressful Life Events
FamilyGender/CultureNeuroPsychoSocial
NeuroPsychoSocial
Dopamine
SerotoninSocial rejection
Parent-child
interactionsCultural influence
on symptom
expression
Cohort effectAmygdala
Hippocampus and
related areasSome
heritability of
social phobiaMental Processes and
Mental ContentsBehaviorAffectNeuroPsychoSocial
Anxiety
FearBiased attention and
memory for negative
evaluations
Hypervigilance for
social threats
Emotional reasoning
Cognitive distortionsClassical
conditioning of
social anxiety
Negative
reinforcement
of social
avoidance