CHAPTER 5
Medications for Social 
Anxiety and Social 
Anxiety Disorder
DECIDING TO TAKE MEDICATION
As discussed in earlier chapters, two approaches have been shown to be useful for over -
coming social anxiety: medications and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Chapter 4 
reviewed the key points to keep in mind when deciding whether to use drug treatments 
to overcome your symptoms of social anxiety. Medications and CBT have been shown 
to be about equally effective in the short term for treating social anxiety. Still, each 
approach has advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Medications Compared with CBT
UÊMedications are often easier to get. Any physician (for example, family 
doctor or psychiatrist) can prescribe medications, as can certain other pro -
fessionals. In contrast, therapists who have specialized training in providing 
CBT are often more difﬁcult to ﬁnd.