The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy Based on Heimberg's Model on the Decrease of Social Anxiety Symptoms

The present study was carried out to examine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy with Heimberg’s model on Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) Symptoms Reduction among female students. Social Phobia Inventory (SPI) was administrated to 205 female students of Shahed University and 24 individuals were selected using structured clinical interview for social phobia, based on diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV. The subjects were then randomly assigned into two groups each with 12 members: the control group (8 principal participants and 4 reserves), and the experimental group (8 principal participants and 4 reserves). Then, cognitive-behavioral group therapy based on Heimberg’s model was administered to the experimental group. In the end, both groups were again evaluated using SPI. Mann-Whitney test revealed a significant difference in the social phobia post-test scores in both the experimental and control groups (p<0.001, z=-2.08), which remained stable one month after the end of treatment. The scores of both groups in subscales of fear, avoidance, and phy-siological problems did not have significant difference in the post-test stage. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy with Heimberg’s model can improve SAD in female students.