The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
104COMBINING MEDICATION WITH 
PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENTS
Studies comparing medications to CBT have generally found both approaches to be very 
effective for reducing anxiety. In addition, a number of researchers have begun to study 
the beneﬁts of combining CBT and medications (Antony and Rowa 2008). Overall, there 
do not appear to be any consistent beneﬁts of combining these treatments. That is, 
medication, CBT, and a combination of these approaches all tend to be about equally 
effective on average, based on the available evidence (for instance, Davidson et al. 2004). 
However, that doesn’t mean that one approach or another is not likely to be more effec -
tive for any one person (including you). In other words, it is often the case that some 
people do best with CBT, some do best with medication, and some do best with a com -
bined treatment. If you decide to try combining CBT with medication, it is helpful if 
both treatments are delivered by the same person, or if the professionals providing you 
with CBT and medication are in contact with one another. Treatment is most likely to 
be helpful when multiple treatments are delivered in a coordinated fashion.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT MEDICATION
Question:  Is taking medication a sign of weakness?
Answer:   Taking medication for social phobia is no more a sign of weakness than 
taking medication for any other problem, such as physical illnesses like 
high blood pressure.
Question:  What level of improvement can I expect?
Answer:   A small percentage of people obtain no beneﬁt at all from medications 
for social phobia. Another small group of people obtain almost com -