Social Phobia: The Effects of Attention Training Technique and Situational Attentional Refocusing

Abstract

The present study investigates the effectiveness of the attention training technique (ATT) and the situational attentional refocusing (SAR) in decreasing the maintaining factors of social phobia identified in Clark and Wells (1995). Also, the study examines the effect ATT and SAR have on comorbid symptoms often associated with social phobia. A convenience sample of twelve participants meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for social phobia were assigned to ATT and SAR treatment. Assessments were conducted pre-, mid-, and post-treatment, and during treatment. At post-treatment 58% of the participants no longer met the criteria for social phobia and 50% had achieved reliable change on self report. Significant differences were found on most measures, with strong effect sizes (ranging from 0.97 – 2.54). ATT and SAR seem to be effective interventions for social phobia and comorbid symptoms. ATT and SAR are relatively brief interventions that could easily be included in a step-care treatment approach.