The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
90treatment plan. You may also decide to update your treatment goals. We recommend 
that you occasionally complete some of the forms in chapter 3 as a way of assessing 
whether your social anxiety is improving.
DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE  
TREATMENT PLAN
In chapters 1 and 2, you learned about the nature and causes of social anxiety. In chapter 
3, you completed a thorough assessment of your own anxiety symptoms. Then, you 
continued the self-assessment process throughout this chapter, as you reviewed your 
previous attempts at treatment and developed your treatment goals. You are now ready 
to develop a treatment plan. By now, you should have a good idea of what you need to 
work on and whether you will try to overcome your social anxiety on your own or with 
the help of a professional therapist or physician.
If you are considering trying medication, we recommend that you read chapter 5 
next. Chapter 5 reviews the various medications that have been shown to be useful for 
treating social and performance anxiety. If you are interested in trying cognitive behav -
ioral techniques, we suggest that you develop a treatment schedule for the next few 
months. The following list is one example of such a schedule:
UÊIn the next week, read chapter 6 and begin to work on changing your neg -
ative thinking patterns. Chapter 6 includes a number of effective cogni -
tive strategies as well as diaries that you should complete several times per 
week.
UÊContinue to practice the cognitive strategies for two to three weeks before 
moving on to exposure-based techniques (chapters 7 through 9).
UÊWhen you are ready to begin exposure practices, begin reading chapters 7