David Clark Model Essay

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3. Describe Clark’s model of social anxiety, as well as his “theory derived cognitive treatment.” Highlight how the specific components of the treatment target the core maintaining factors of the disorder.

Clark’s model of social anxiety begins with a social situation activating an individual’s assumptions about himself and his social world, which include unconditional negative beliefs about himself (I am unlikeable), unrealistically high standards that he holds himself to (I must deliver a perfect presentation), and beliefs regarding the consequences of failing to meet their standard (if I mess up and stutter, everything will think I’m an idiot and no one will be my friend). These activated assumptions create a perceived sense of social danger which colors how patients interpret their own performance and the reaction of others. The appraisal of the social setting as dangerous feeds into an interconnected web of excessive self-focus and …show more content…

This technique provides opportunities for the patient to disprove their beliefs that ritualistic safety behaviors are necessary in order to reduce or prevent a feared consequence. ERP assumes that systematic (in vivo and/or imaginal) exposure to aversive stimuli that may trigger obsessions and anxiety without the use of safety behaviors to reduce the anxiety should naturally lead to a reduction in anxiety as patients learn that that the feared catastrophe will not occur. This treatment technique does not try to prevent obsessions from occuring- instead, ERP targets the patient’s response to anxiety-inducing stimuli and the patient’s maladaptive reliance on safety

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