Twenty-three preadolescent children (ages 8-11) meeting criteria for social phobia were randomly assigned to either a 3-week cognitive-behavioral group intervention or a wait-list control group. The intervention consisted of psychoeducation, cognitive strategies, and behavioral exposure. Outcome measures included diagnostic interview as well as parent and child report measures of anxiety and de...

Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for Social Phobia is effective in both group and individual formats. However, the impact of group processes on treatment efficacy remains relatively unexplored. In this study we examined group cohesion ratings made by individuals at the midpoint and endpoint of CBT groups for social phobia. Symptom measures were also completed at the beginning and end of treatme...

The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) groups disorders into diagnostic classes on the basis of the subjective criterion of "shared phenomenological features." There are now sufficient data to eliminate this rational system and replace it with an empirically based structure that reflects the actual similarities am...

In a register study on patients hospitalized in the 1950s for anxiety neurosis, going until 1994 for diagnostic behaviour and until 2004 for suicidal behaviour, we found a co-existence with depression. However, the study has no information about therapy. Just after the finalization of this study, one of the patients was hospitalized in our department for depression. At that time the patient was...

We experienced an 11-year-old boy with panic disorder responding remarkably to paroxetine. Only a few studies have reported the clinical application of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on children with panic disorder. In Japan, there are reports of child depression, autism, and school phobia; no study has focused on paroxetine treatment for children with panic disorder. Therefore...

I have been asked to comment on the three articles on social phobia in this issue of Psychological Medicine. The three papers in one way or another concern themselves with important issues in the assessment and diagnosis of social phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder; Liebowitz et al. 2000). I do so with the caveat that I am an author on one of the papers and do not claim the same degr...

Pantothenate kinase 2 deficiency (previously known as Hallervorden-Spatz disease) is an unusual metabolic disorder characterized by progressive extrapyramidal dysfunction and dementia. A 27-year-old Caucasian presented with a major depression disorder and social phobia since adolescence. Patient had marked paranoia, auditory hallucinations, extrapyramidal dysfunction, poor memory, and gait abno...

Background: Mental disorders in people who stutter are controversial among researchers. This review study aims to probe four common mental disorders, including anxiety, social phobia, depression, and suicide in people who stutter (PWS) as well as in people who do not stutter (PWNS). Materials and Methods: For the purpose of this review study, we searched 5 combined keywords, including stutter ...

Disabling phobias and phobia like compulsive rituals are surprisingly common in the general population, though only a minority ask for help. Behavioural treatment (exposure) and antidepressants are the most helpful approaches. Most patients can help themselves if they use a self exposure approach systematically under the guidance of a clinician. The method seems well suited for use by general p...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the EQ-5D in patients with social phobia. METHODS We used a sample of 445 patients with social phobia with five measurement points over a 30 month period. The discriminative ability of the EQ-5D was analysed by comparing the patients' responses with the general population and between different disease severity levels...