Training and psychological treatment for social anxiety and crowd anxiety

When do you need personal preparation for a public speaking course?

Some of those enrolled in fear of crowds courses suffer from social anxiety, that is, fear of actions of a social nature. In this situation, the fear of the crowd is secondary to the social anxiety, so first of all the social anxiety should be treated individually and only then the fear of the crowd should be treated. In this context, it should be noted that fear of crowds cannot be treated within the clinic for the simple reason that the treatment requires exposure to the crowd (as is done in the course). I have a lot of experience in the treatment of social anxiety and my therapeutic approach is often cognitive-behavioral, that is, an understanding of the patterns of thinking and feelings that arouse and intensify the anxiety and their change, this at the same time as exposure to anxiety-provoking situations.

Other applicants who suffer from fear of crowds but not from generalized social anxiety may feel that they are not yet ready to face the course and need advance preparation. In such situations, the focus is mainly on those thoughts that arouse the fear of the audience, study and application of various calming techniques and empowerment for the course. It is usually two to three meetings followed by the course.

What does personal treatment look like for fear of crowds and social anxiety?

Single session (preparation for the course)

The meeting takes place in a quiet room and lasts an hour, during which you learn emotional techniques that will help you pass the first lesson (from here on the path is easier). Among other things, you learn breathing exercises, you learn how to think before a first speech and you get an explanation of the course of the first meeting and how to deal with it.

Series of sessions (social anxiety treatment)

Here they hold a series of such meetings, in each of which they learn techniques on how to control emotions and reduce fear. Among other things, they acquire thinking patterns to treat self-criticism and negative thoughts, learn breathing and relaxation exercises to treat the symptoms of fear, and in severe cases also do guided imagery exercises.