Text Message Treatment for Social Anxiety

This study hopes to assess whether a month long text message based safety behavior fading
protocol is effective in reducing safety behaviors and social anxiety symptoms. Over the
course of four consecutive weeks, text messages will be sent to participants the first day of
the study and every other day for four weeks (14 texts in total). These text messages will
remind participants to either avoid using their three most engaged in safety behaviors
(assessed at pre-treatment) or to stay present-focused. The past week frequency of the
participants' safety behaviors will be assessed at the beginning of pre-treatment,
post-treatment, and four week follow up assessments Participants will be asked to complete an
additional online questionnaire for both a post-treatment and a 4-week post-treatment follow
up assessment. We hypothesize that: 1) the safety behavior group will show a greater overall
reduction in social anxiety symptoms, 2) that the safety behavior group will show a reduction
in the frequency of safety behavior use, and 3) that the present-focused group will show an
increase in mindfulness.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Social Phobia Inventory score > 29

Exclusion Criteria:

- receiving therapy

- changes in the past 4 weeks with medication for emotional difficulties

- psychotic symptoms