Procedure
anxiety disorder
The study will be conducted in Germany at the outpatient psychotherapy unit of the Clinical Psychology department of the Goethe University of Frankfurt as well as the outpatient psychotherapy unit of the Clinical Psychology department of the Technische Universitaet Dresden and two further CBT training centers in Dresden. For reporting purposes, we followed the SPIRIT reporting guidelines [In the first step, all persons that register for participating in the study will be screened using an online self-report assessment. If participants exceed the cut-off of 25-points or find themselves within the criteria for social anxiety disorder, they are referred to another online self-assessment and then invited for an interview with a clinical rater. Beforehand, they will be informed about the study and provided with written informed consent (either personally or via email if necessary). Interviews to determine the patient's formal diagnosis are conducted by blinded and independent psychologists (with at least a master’s degree) who have been trained in the appropriate interviews. Eligible patients are then randomly assigned to one of three groups (WLC, APP, TG-APP). Participation in each of the groups lasts 3 months. Participants in the WLC group then have the option of using the app if they wish. The outcome measures will be assessed by blinded and independent raters at baseline, post-treatment (3 months after start), as well as 6 months after the post-treatment interview (follow-up). Furthermore, participants will complete self-report questionnaires online at baseline, at mid-treatment (at 6 weeks), post-treatment (at 12 weeks), and follow-up (at 36 weeks; see Fig. Prior to the start of the study, we will conduct a pilot study to improve usability and evaluate the mobile application and the applicability of therapist-guided video therapy and the videoconferencing tool.