Social Anxiety During The Middle School: A Case Study

728 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Short note on social anxiety

During Middle School, the changes and expectations young individuals experience can cause damage to their self-esteem and increase their anxiety. If the individuals low self-esteem and anxiety is not treated the youth may be at risk for other disorders or deficits. The author Altınta (2014) explains, that during this transition, issues such as body dissatisfaction may arise. Additionally, according to Obeid, Buchholz, Boerner, Henderson, & Norris (2013), suggest that social anxiety can lead to some disruption of everyday functioning. Moreover, symptoms of social anxiety tend to increase across adolescence and’ increase awareness and concerns of their surrounding peers, friends, and adult’s perceptions (Obeid, Buchholz, Boerner, Henderson, & …show more content…

For example, the individual may experience deficits in decoding and interpretation of information, empathy, social cognition, regulation of attention, and behavior regulation (Fernandez Castelao, Naber, Altstädt, Kroner-Herwig, & Ruhl, 2015). Additionally, this can cause issues in verbal and motor behavior like, gestures, initialization of a conversation, and eye contact (Fernandez Castelao, Naber, Altstädt, Kroner-Herwig, & Ruhl, 2015). Although these deficits can cause issues in adolescent social functioning, if untreated these deficits can prolong into adulthood and cause issues in forming intimate relationships or finding a …show more content…

The 12-week group therapy consisted of psycho-education, skill building, cognitive restructuring and behavioral exposure to social distressing situations (Herguner, 2013). Additionally, the researchers found adding a family component to the CBT, either individually or in groups, was superior to CBT alone (Herguner, 2013). Another study that compared CBT to Active Control Therapy found a number of children participants no longer met clinical criteria for their anxiety diagnosis after using CBT in treatment (“CBT,” 2009). They also found, after a three month follow up, a greater amount of participants were still in remission in the CBT group than their other group (“CBT,”

Show More
Related

  • Psychotherapy Therapy: Cognitive Behavior Therapy

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the primary reasons I prefer to utilize CBT is due to its compatibility with my personality. I am an organized, logical, and direct individual, all of which CBT encompasses well. CBT is a highly structured therapy. Even though there isn’t a particular order to procedures while utilizing CBT, there does tend to be a natural progression of certain steps. This aspect allows me to feel as though I am leading client’s to their goals in a logical manner. Not only that, CBT has a great deal of research backing that has proven it to be effective in treating several diagnoses such as depression and anxiety (Corey, 2013). Perhaps the best quality of CBT is the fact that it is known for having an openness to incorporating techniques from other approaches. According to Corey (2013), most forms of CBT can be integrated into other mainstream therapies (p.

    Read More

  • The Goonies Movie Essay

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    We are introduced to adolescence in the 5th stage of development. Adolescence begins for boys around the age of 14 and continues up until the age of 21 years of age. At this stage of development, there are many changes that occur emotionally, physically, sexually and spiritually (McGoldrick, Carter, & Garcia Preto, 2011). At this time, adolescent kids are going through changes in their body. They are dealing with coming into their own sexuality. Skills pertaining to social skills and social relationships are being developed through experience. Adolescents are also increasing their skills of physical and mental coordination, such as learning about the world and working on their own coordination. Adolescence is also characterized by learning their own identity and where they fit in the world, as well as learning their relationship with peers and those around them. Spiritual identity is also developed along with a deeper understanding of life. Independence is something that is also weighing on the mind of an adolescent. Overall changes in the family structure can also occur when a child of this age reaches this

    Read More

  • Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

    1728 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nieter et al. (2013) looked at PCIT with community families and whether the behaviors of the children changed after the 12 sessions. The sample of 27 families was in low socioeconomic statuses, and the children were between 2-8 years of age. Only 17 of these families completed the entire treatment. The families that were in the PCIT program exemplified that the parents and/or caregivers gained skills to help their children’s behavior. The caregivers also in the experimental (PCIT) group believed that their children’s behavior improved by the end of treatment and the parents’ stress level decreased as well. Not only did the children’s behavior improve, but the parents also felt like they did not exhibit inappropriate behaviors (e.g. critical statements) as much and used more prosocial behaviors. The study’s results also may show that the fact that the treatment was in a group setting may have been beneficial, because it provides a support system, and they are able to problem solve together. Even after treatment ended, the parents reported that they kept in contact, creating a strong community. However, on the other hand, the problem with the group setting was the because there were so many groups, each caregiver only received 10-15 minutes of coaching which is shorter than the individual sessions. Thus, the therapists could not ensure that each family fully mastered each session before moving on to the

    Read More

  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is one of the most commonly utilized interventions for children (Cary & McMillen, 2011). TF-CBT is a highly structured intervention consisting of 90-minute weekly sessions. The clinician works with the client through eight competencies, including psychoeducation, relaxation, affective expression and regulation, cognitive coping, trauma narrative development and processing, gradual exposure, joint parent/child sessions, and enhancing future development (Cary & McMillen, 2011). TF-CBT has an extensive history and many variations. Clinicians utilize a number of other cognitive behavior treatments that have been adapted to meet the needs of traumatized children (Cary, & McMillen, 2012; Smith et al., 2007). While there are a number of cognitive behavior treatments, TF-CBT has received the highest classification rating for supported and effective treatment from many studies (Cary, & McMillen, 2012; Kauffman Best Practices Project, 2004).

    Read More

  • Neuropsychological Assessment: Child Abuse And Trauma Assessment In Canada

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first area relates to attachment problems which can include difficulties with boundaries, lack of trust, social isolation, relationship difficulties, and lack of skill with taking another’s perspective (Cook et al., 2005). The second area identified is biological problems which include sensorimotor developmental difficulties, balance and coordination difficulties, somatization, and increased medical problems (e.g., asthma, skin problems, autoimmune disorders) (Cook et al., 2005). The third area is affect regulation difficulties which can include poor emotion self-regulation skills, limited ability to label and express feelings, difficulties identifying and expressing internal states, and problems describing wants and needs (Cook et al., 2005). The fourth area is dissociation which is often described as a detachment of the mind from the emotional state or from the body and problems can include forgetting, feeling as though things are not real, distinct changes to level of consciousness, and memory impairments (Cook et al., 2005). The fifth area is behavioural control difficulties which include poor impulse control, problems being self-destructive, aggression directed at others, problematic self-soothing actions, sleep difficulties, disordered eating, substance use problems, overly compliant behaviours, oppositional behaviour, problems

    Read More

  • Peer Attachment Theory

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Patients with comorbid anxiety responded much better to CBT than to the other two treatments because SBFT and NST did more poorly with comorbid anxious patients” (p. 912). Strength of this clinical trial would be the results might help explain the failure of treatments developed in research clinics to generalize to community settings (912).

    Read More

  • The Development Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form a therapy that is short term, problem focused, cost effective, and can be provided to a broad range of disorders and is based on evidence based practices, in fact it is has the most substantial evidence based of all psychosocial therapies (Craske, 2017, p.3). Evidence based practices are strategies that have been proven to be effective through research and science. One goal of CBT is to decrease symptoms and improve the quality of life by replacing maladaptive behaviors, emotions and cognitive responses with adaptive responses (Craske, 2017, p.24). The behavioral intervention goal is to decrease maladaptive behavior and increase adaptive behavior. The goal of cognitive intervention is to modify maladaptive cognitions, self-statements or beliefs. CBT grew out of behavioral therapy and the social learning theory (Dobson, 2012, p.9). It was not until the 1950s that CBT started to swarm the psychology field. Due to nonscientific psychoanalytical approaches, there was a need for a better form of intervention which ensued to behavioral therapy (Craske, 2017,

    Read More

  • Social Anxiety

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    A woman hates to stand in line in the grocery store because she's afraid that everyone is watching her. She knows that it's not really true, but she can't shake the feeling. While she is shopping, she is conscious of the fact that people might be staring at her from the big mirrors on the inside front of the ceiling. Now, she has to talk to the person who's checking out her groceries. She tries to smile, but her voice comes out weakly. She's sure she's making a fool of herself. Her self-consciousness and anxiety rise to the roof...(Richards 1) (1).

    Read More

  • How Does Health Affect Mental Health

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kendall and Choudhury (2003, Cited in Sofronoff, Attwood and Hinton, 2005) emphasised the significance of parent involvement when using CBT with children. Mendlowitz et al. (1999, Cited in Sofronoff et al.) discovered that by implementing a therapy session which allows parents to be involved, could eventually show development to the child’s condition and an increased use of adaptive coping strategy in the child. This proposes that by permitting parents to attend therapy sessions plays a vital role, in terms of effectively treating children’s anxiety disorders. Howard and Kendall (1996, Cited in Barrett, Duffy, Dadds and Rapee) found that implementing a family based CBT program resulted in major improvements at the end of the treatment. When Barrett, Dadds and Rapee (1996) compared child only CBT and child CBT plus family anxiety management training, it was found that both conditions indicated major improvement. The improvements made after treatment were generally maintained over a period of 5-7 years, therefore validating the results of the study. This draws attention to the effectiveness of CBT in long-term. Even though the improvements are only exhibited when therapy sessions are kept continuous and consistent over time, therapies do not provide a permanent cure for mental disorders or illnesses but is just

    Read More

  • Impact Of Trauma And PTSD

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deblinger, McCleer, & Henry (1990) demonstrated that trauma focused CBT which included anxiety management components (e.g. coping skills training and joint work with parents) which children aged 3 to 16 were effective in reducing the symptoms of PTSD because the client was able to externalize their symptoms rather than keeping them inside. Components of CBT include psychoeducation, activity scheduling/reclaiming life, imaginal reliving (including writing and drawing techniques), cognitive restructuring followed by integration of restructuring into reliving, revisiting the site of the trauma, stimulus discrimination with respect to traumatic reminders, direct work with nightmares, image transformation techniques; behavioral experiments, and work with parents at all stages ( Yule, Smith, & Perrin,

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cognitive therapy approaches of psychotherapy have proved to be one of the most effective psychological approaches for a wide range of behavioral problems. “CBT teaches anxiety reduction skills that people can use for the rest of their lives. Research shows the

    Read More

  • Young Adolescents And The Middle School

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Young adolescents can be described as ages 10-15 years old, but it is also considered that adolescence continues until the age of 25. During this time in an adolescent’s life there are many internal and external factors that affect the development of each individual. The influence that an adolescent’s peers, parents, and community have on them can be conflicting and therefore cause stress. Trying to meet the expectations of others during a time where one is going through so many forms of physical, psychological, and cognitive development can be trying for a middle school aged student. They are expected to focus on their education and the expectation of other outside influences while their bodies are growing and developing into an adult body. When development happens differently for these kids it can affect their psychological development if they focus too much on how fast, or slow they are developing in comparison to their peers. Some adolescents may let their peers influence their behaviors creating a problem with how they interact with others, or how they view themselves as a person. The middle school is a place where students are guided through these developmental experiences with the help of their peers, teachers, administrators, parents and community.

    Read More

  • What´s Teen Anxiety?

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anxiety has a main definition; a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Although, it has its single definition, each person diagnosed with anxiety has different symptoms. With that, some have more severe cases of the actual diagnosis. It has been noted that anxiety has had an increase in teens recently. In the last 30 years, the statistics for anxiety in fifteen to sixteen year olds have doubled for both girls and boys (“Increased Levels of Anxiety…” 1). It is said, “in societal moments like the one we are in…it often feels as if ours is the Age of Anxiety”(Henig 1). Anxiety affects teenagers profusely because the emotions of a teenager are more vulnerable than those of an adult. The brain of a teenager is not fully developed and the stress put on teenagers to start putting their life together takes a toll on their emotions. The daily life and activities are interfered with by anxiety when the amount of stress put on a teenager becomes unbearable. Unfortunately, the effects of anxiety become so intense that the mental health is eventually toyed with. So many different components of life contribute to anxiety and cannot be prevented.

    Read More

  • Cultural Influences On Adolescence

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout our life, it can be marked by developmental changes in every domain of life: our physical, cognitive, social, personalities, and morals. Due to some important researchers such as Erickson, Freud, Piaget we are able to understand the development of each of these domains. Each stage of it’s life has it’s own difficulties and events that can determine a person’s life (Mogler, 2008). During the stages of adolescence, they are very vulnerable to a lot going on in their life such as fitting in, peers, family, school, activities, and society, and not to forget the ups and downs of puberty. Adolescence can be viewed as a huge part of many children’s lives where in this part of their life they try to find teenagers experience physical, cognitive,

    Read More

  • Challenges teenager face due both to biology and society

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    Adolescence is a period of transition between the ages of 13 – 19, after childhood but before adulthood. Adolescence can be a difficult period in a teenager's life. Many teenagers do not know how to react or how to adapt to all of the physical, social, and psychological changes that occur during this period. Some adolescents pass through this period without problem, while for others, it is a period of torture, discomfort, and anxiety. With all the biological and social pressures that occur during adolescence, many teens fail to assume their identity. Sometimes family and society does not help to make this task easier. Challenges teenagers face due to biology and society are body image, hormonal changes, social and parental pressures, family problems, school pressures, alcohol, drug abuse, homosexuality, and suicide.

    Read More

More about Social Anxiety During The Middle School: A Case Study

Open Document