Therapy for Social Anxiety
Helping you approach social situations with more confidence.
Be highly sensitive to social rejection and to negative evaluation from others.
Have a hard time making eye contact during small talk. You may also feel awkward and self-conscious, which might come across as aloofness, because you think there’s a chance you might do or say something embarrassing.
Second guess and beat yourself up over past social interactions or worry about whether someone you’ll meet in the future will like you.
Feel uncomfortable being the center of positive or negative attention, such as being praised or criticized in front of others.
Worry that others will notice that you’re feeling anxious or uncomfortable.
Avoid being in the spotlight or experience intense worry before, during, and after certain situations. These situations might include: speaking up in a meeting, expressing your opinions or preferences to a friendly acquaintance, eating in front of others, playing a group sport, speaking on the phone or meeting with someone virtually, interviewing for a job, going out on a date, or engaging in a public speaking event.
Whichever way you’ve come, I’m happy you’re here. Read on to see whether therapy for social anxiety I provide might help you.
You may have landed here because you might . . .
You’re someone who values deep connections over shallow acquaintanceships, but you find yourself feeling lonely and having few of these relationships. What’s holding you back from making the connections you crave?
Because of your intense fear of rejection, humiliation, or embarrassment, you find yourself avoiding situations that you think will lead to these emotions. Perhaps you’ve experienced one or many interactions with people who made you feel this way, and you no longer feel safe enough to make friends or deepen surface-level connections.
Maybe you’ve coped by filling your time with extra work or overusing social media and chat rooms. Or, you do activities or go on trips alone, instead of reaching out to friends and acquaintances to join you. Or, you avoid dating. Unfortunately, staying away from situations that involve spending time with people robs them from getting to know the real you. And doing this can often become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you relate to this: You need a safe space where you can connect and comfortably be yourself as you explore and identify what’s getting in the way of being around people or interacting with certain individuals. You want to feel seen and understood, and, at the same time, you’d also like to take the next steps to overcome social anxiety with gentle guidance.
I view recovery from social anxiety as an opportunity to identify and live by your core strengths, and to showcase the real you.
Together, we’ll help you figure out what a fulfilling life looks like for you and what you value most.
In addition to providing education, I’ll teach you evidence-based skills to make space for difficult feelings and self-critical thoughts, how to respond in a compassionate way, and how to reframe those thoughts when necessary. I’ll also teach you skills to help you live the life you envision for yourself and, in the process, help you approach relationships and social situations with more confidence.
As part of the goal-setting process, we’ll work together to identify and work toward baby steps to help you live a rich, meaningful life, even when it involves getting outside your comfort zone.
Our primary goal in working together will be to help you learn to coexist with fear/anxiety and difficult thoughts, so they don’t keep you from living the life you want to live.
My experience with social anxiety
As a psychologist and fellow human, I have an intimate understanding of what it’s like to experience social anxiety and how much it can hold people back in multiple areas of life. Growing up, some of you may have learned to pay extra attention to facial expressions and body language, which led to certain interpretations. This may have led you to question how you come across and whether you’ll be accepted for what you do and say. Others of you may have experienced painful life events or chapters, like being bullied, which resulted in ongoing harsh self-judgement for being rejected or criticized.
The fear and worry that sets in when you want to go about your daily life – but can’t – can feel all-consuming and frustrating. You wish you could get coffee at a café, go to the gym, take public transportation, grab dinner with a friend, or go on a date without all the negative self-talk and harsh self-criticism.
I love combining my experience and clinical skills to help you identify core values and goals. I will also teach you to lean into these values and goals and change your relationship with your harsh inner critic when you intentionally take steps to live a fulfilling life.