Social Anxiety Treatment in California
Do you often find yourself worried about what others think of you? Do you replay social interactions in your mind, contemplating what you could have done differently? Perhaps to the point where it’s starting to make you feel depressed?
While some may say it’s normal and that everyone deals with social anxiety occasionally, you’ve noticed that it’s impacting your life. Socializing and making friends have become challenging, your ‘inner critic’ keeps you up at night, and work or school feels almost unmanageable due to your social anxiety.
If you just want to stop feeling this way, we’re here to help!
We Help You Manage and Overcome Your Social Anxiety
Right now, you may feel completely alone or like no one else understands what you’re going through. In reality, social anxiety is one of the most common reasons our clients reach out to us.
That’s why anxiety counseling exists! Social anxiety treatment is a very effective way to manage your social anxiety. With the support of a social anxiety therapist, you can learn how to overcome it. You don’t have to continue living under the weight of your anxiety.
Working with a social anxiety therapist that specializes in social anxiety can help you understand. Together, you can become more aware of your ‘inner critic.’ You’ll learn how to push through your negative thoughts so that you can stop avoiding social interactions. You’ll be able to walk away from conversations without being overpowered by thoughts like ‘Why did I say that?’
Through social anxiety treatment, you’ll start feeling better about yourself and your ability to cope with social anxiety. We support you and help you regain control over your thoughts and feelings. You don’t have to go through this alone.
Common Symptoms Of Social Anxiety
Social anxiety affects everyone in different ways. For some, it may manifest as a fear of public speaking or performing, while for others, it may result in the avoidance of any type of social interaction. In general, people with social anxiety tend to experience some or all of the following symptoms:
- Ruminating about social interactions after they’ve happened
- Negative self-talk
- Worry about your appearance and whether others will judge you
- Fear of embarrassing yourself in front of other people
- Stress about interacting with employers or colleagues
- Difficulty performing at work or school due to anxiety
- Avoidance of social situations and difficulty going out in public
- Physical symptoms like sweating, shaking, or a racing heart
Our Approach
Our psychiatrists and therapists understand the challenges that come with social anxiety. We’ve worked with countless teens and adults, many of whom thought they would never be able to control their anxious thoughts. With our experience and training, we can help you manage your social anxiety. Together, we’ll guide you in learning how to cope with anxiety-provoking situations.
We provide you with a safe space to process and explore your fears around social situations. Our goal is to help you understand how social anxiety works and how avoiding social situations can worsen your anxiety. Through anxiety counseling, you’ll acquire coping skills to power through your fears.
Tailored
At Beverly MHS, we recognize that each person has a unique experience with social anxiety, and we tailor our approach to meet your individual needs.
When we start working with you, we assess how social anxiety impacts your day-to-day functioning across various areas of your life. Some individuals may feel anxious talking to people they don’t know, while others may experience anxiety in group settings even if they know everyone in the group. We take into account your unique experience before we begin our work with you
Education
After gaining a clear understanding of your unique needs, we will help you understand how your anxiety works. This involves explaining how your self-critical thoughts can turn into social avoidance and how that social avoidance then fuels your self-critical thoughts.
Exposure and Response Prevention
Over time, we help you expose yourself to anxiety-provoking situations while teaching you coping skills along the way. This process is called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and it helps individuals with anxiety confront their fears in a safe and controlled environment.
We will be with you every step of the way, and if necessary, we encourage family members or partners to support you through this journey. By doing so, you can practice working through social interactions outside of social anxiety treatment. Once you’ve become acclimated to certain social interactions, you can then practice working through anxiety, allowing you to thrive in more challenging situations.
Begin Your Treatment Today
Living with social anxiety can be very challenging, but fortunately, help is available. If you want to overcome your social anxiety and start living the life you want, Beverly MHS can help.
Beverly Mental Health Service is here to assist and support you
We recognize the challenges of scheduling in-person therapy amid busy schedules. We are understanding, accepting, and compassionate. Our mental health services, available both online throughout California and in-person in Los Angeles, encompass mental health treatments for OCD, ADHD, social anxiety, and depression. We offer self-assessments for depression and ADHD during the initial orientation. Reach out directly or explore our services on our blog or providers page. You won’t walk alone; we’re here to support you.
