Social Anxiety
Does this sound like you?
Social Anxiety at a Glance
People with social anxiety worry excessively about being negatively evaluated by others, drawing attention to themselves, being embarrassed or rejected by others. They often display physical symptoms of anxiety, like blushing, sweating, or shaking and worry that other people will judge them for it. Consequently, people with social anxiety tend to avoid (or become very anxious in) social situations such as parties, phone calls, group conversations or performance situations where they might be judged by others, such as public speaking. Social anxiety is more than just shyness; it can be very disabling.
Fortunately, social anxiety is very treatable and many people who seek help can get better. This program will teach you practical skills to tackle social anxiety and improve the way you feel.
About the social anxiety program
This 6-lesson program is based on an effective psychological treatment for social anxiety called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It is designed to teach you proven strategies for tackling your symptoms and show you how to work with your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours so you can make a positive change in how you feel. It may be especially helpful to you if you’ve been previously diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder (or Social Phobia) and haven’t had CBT in the past.
This program may be suitable for you if:
- You feel very nervous, tense, and self-conscious in unfamiliar social situations.
- You worry a lot about how you come across to others and what they think of you.
- You tend to avoid socializing in groups or take extra steps to prepare yourself when going out.
- You seem to be stuck in the way you feel and would love to learn how to get out of this cycle.
- You are ready and willing to learn new skills to change the way you feel.
What You Will Learn
Throughout this program, you will follow an illustrated story of ‘Matthew’ and ‘Kate’ as they learn how to manage their physical sensations, shift unhelpful thoughts, and change behaviours that tend to maintain and worsen their anxiety. Each lesson focuses on teaching you a practical skill you can use to begin changing the vicious cycle of social anxiety. Once you complete a lesson, you will have 5 days to practice your new skill before the next lesson becomes available.
Social Anxiety Explained – Learn about how social anxiety affects you and how it can be treated.
Tackling Avoidance – Understand how avoidance keeps anxiety going, and how anxiety can be overcome using exposure therapy.
Troubleshooting Exposure – Review how exposure therapy is progressing and learn how to do behavioural experiments.
Unhelpful Thinking Styles – Learn to identify unhelpful thinking styles.
Thought Challenging and Social Skills – Challenge unhelpful thinking styles and learn about social skills.
Relapse Prevention – Summarizing the program and preventing relapses.
Access convenient, discreet, and effective online self-help…
What’s included
Each of our programs has been designed to help you get the most out of self-guided learning and provides you with a range of materials to support you on your recovery journey.
Lessons
Story-based lessons that teach core coping skills.
Workbooks
Exercises designed to help you tackle your symptoms.
Action Plans
Step-by-step activities to help you put new skills into practice.
Extra Resources
Tools to help you overcome common challenges.
Alerts & Reminders
Reminder e-mails and texts to help you stay on track.
Progress Tracking
Questionnaires to help you monitor your well-being.
How to Get Started
Option 1
Enroll in this program as ‘self-help’ and complete it independently, or
Option 2
Speak with your regular clinician (e.g., your GP, psychologist, or other health professional) and see if they can prescribe you this program and monitor you throughout your online treatment. You can download and take the Clinician Letter to your appointment.
Choose to start right away or speak
with your clinician about this program
Enroll as self-help
- You have free access to the program for 90 days.
- Get almost immediate access to the program and start right away.
- Extra 12 months of access once completed.
- Accessible to Quebec residents only.
Get a prescription
- You have free access to the program for 90 days.
- Your clinician can monitor how you are.
- Extra 12 months of access once completed.
- Accessible to Quebec residents only.
Download a Clinician Letter:
Please note: our programs have not been evaluated in populations who have been diagnosed as having schizophrenia or bipolar disorder; people who are dependent on drugs or alcohol; or take sedative medication (e.g., Valium, lorazepam) daily. More tailored, intensive, face-to-face support from a clinician may be more suitable for these populations and for people who are thinking about suicide. We recommend that such individuals seek clinician support and medical advice before enrolling in a self-guided online treatment program for their mental health.
Frequently asked questions
Over the years, the THIS WAY UP virtual clinic in Australia has helped many individuals improve their mental health through clinical trials and online programs. If you have any questions about this program, check out the FAQs below or get in touch with us .
People who fear and avoid situations where they might be judged by others.
This program is self-paced, but is designed to be completed within 3 months. We recommend completing one lesson every week to make sure you get the most of your course. Initially you will be granted 90 days of access, and upon completion of the program, you will be granted an extra 12-month access for practice purposes.
Once a lesson is completed, there is a compulsory 5-day waiting period between lessons, to allow for skill practice.
This program is free of charge.
The amount of support you receive will depend on the way you choose to do this program.
If your clinician – doctor, psychologist or other mental health professional – prescribes it, they will have access to the program and your well-being scores, so you can check –in with them about your progress and how you feel.
If you do the program as ‘self-help’, there is no clinical support available because the program is completely automated, although you can contact us for any technical difficulties. However, provided you complete all six lessons, the results will be as good as with supervision.
You don’t need to have been diagnosed with Social Anxiety to find the strategies taught in this course helpful for managing your anxiety about social situations.
The best place to seek advice about treatment options for your specific symptoms and situation is from your GP or a mental health care provider.
To make the most of the course, we recommend completing a lesson every 1-2 weeks and practising the skills that you learn regularly. Make sure that you download and save all of the downloadable program materials so you can come back and review the strategies later on.
If your regular clinician is registered with ēquilia, they will email you a personalized link allowing you to register using our secure online system.
Here’s how to discuss this option with your health professional:
Step 1
Make an appointment with your clinician (e.g., your GP, Medical Specialist, Psychologist or other Mental Health Professional).
Step 2
Download, print, and take the Clinician Letter (Quebec) to your appointment. This letter outlines how your clinician can register with ēquilia and prescribe our programs using our online system.
Step 3
Ask your clinician if they are familiar with ēquilia and tell them about the program you’d like to do.
If your clinician is new to ēquilia, they may need some time to register and get to know our system, so you may not be able to get a program prescription right away.
If your clinician is able to prescribe and monitor you throughout the program, they will send you a ‘prescription’ e-mail called a “Quickscript” via our system with details on how to enroll.
Please note that it is up to individual clinicians to decide whether it is appropriate for them to prescribe and monitor you through one of our programs. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that your clinician will be able to assist you.
However, our programs are available as ‘self-help’, so if this option is suitable for you, you can enroll and receive up to 12 months of access.
When you enroll in this program as ‘self-help,’ our system will guide you through the lessons, and you will complete them independently.
Our team is here to provide technical assistance, but we cannot answer clinical questions or give personalized advice about your health.
When you enroll in this program under the ‘supervision’ of your regular clinician (e.g., your GP, psychologist, psychiatrist, or other health professional), they can view your progress and well-being scores and determine whether you require further assistance.
You may also be able to discuss your symptoms with them or seek further guidance on implementing the strategies you learn.
Some clinicians may prescribe this program as part of your face-to-face or telehealth sessions.
Some clinicians may choose to recommend that you enroll in this program as ‘self-help’ and support you throughout without formally prescribing it to you.
The Science Behind This Program
This program is based on established clinical practice guidelines. It has also been evaluated in randomized controlled trials and in studies in real-world settings, including:
Titov et al. (2009a) | Titov et al. (2009b) | Titov et al. (2009c) | Titov et al. (2009d)| Williams et al. (2014)
Why choose ēquilia?
Online Programs That Work
The creators of THIS WAY UP have been developing and releasing scientifically supported online mental health programs for over a decade. They ensure that these programs help individuals achieve real positive results by conducting clinical research and adhering to best practice guidelines for treating mental health conditions.
The ēquilia virtual platform now makes these programs available in Quebec and Ontario, and continues research in this field in Canada.
For Clinicians
Did you know that you can use this evidence-based online program in the treatment of Social Anxiety?
According to the clinical practice guidelines, internet-delivered CBT forms part of the stepped-care approach to treatment.
As a registered ēquilia clinician, you can prescribe the Social Anxiety Program to your clients and monitor their progress.