Social Anxiety and Perfectionism: Clinical Tools to Let Go of Unrealistic Standards and Build Real Connections

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Martin M. Antony, PhD, ABPP Related seminars and products

Toronto Metropolitan University

---

Martin M. Antony, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist, professor in the department of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, and provincial clinical and training lead for the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program. He received his PhD in psychology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Previously, he was founding director of both the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic and the Psychology Residency Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a past president of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Dr. Antony has published 33 books and over 300 scientific articles and chapters in areas related to cognitive behavior therapy and anxiety-related disorders. He has given more than 425 presentations to audiences across four continents, and has been interviewed, featured, or quoted more than 450 times in various print, radio, television, and online media outlets, including The Atlantic, BBC, CBC, Chatelaine magazine, CNN, CTV, Globe and Mail, National Geographic, National Post, The New York Times, O (The Oprah Magazine), Prevention Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Scientific American Mind, Time, Toronto Star, USA Today, The Washington Post, WebMD, and many others.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Martin Antony has an employment relationship with the Toronto Metropolitan University and receives a consulting fee from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He is a national speaker and receives royalties as a published author. He receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-Financial: Dr. Martin Antony is a member of Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the American Psychological Association (APA). Martin Antony receives royalties as a published author.

Objectives

1. Evaluate the relationship between social anxiety disorder and perfectionism to inform clinical interventions.
2. Conduct interview-based, self-report, and behavioural assessments of social anxiety and perfectionism to inform the clinician's choice of treatment interventions.
3. Practice three cognitive therapy strategies targeting distorted thinking patterns relevant to social anxiety and perfectionism.
4. Differentiate effective versus ineffective principles for designing exposure assignments to alleviate symptoms of social anxiety and perfectionism.
5. Employ mindfulness practices to help clients shift from a control-focused state to an acceptance-focused state to improve treatment outcomes.
6. Construct effective strategies to defuse resistance to change and improve client engagement.

Outline

• Myths and realities of social anxiety
• The transdiagnostic nature of perfectionism
• Best practice assessments for social anxiety and perfectionism
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social anxiety

• Common core beliefs, underlying assumptions, and automatic thoughts of socially anxious perfectionistic clients
• How to catch distorted thinking:
  • Probability overestimations
  • Catastrophic thinking
  • Double standards
  • Overgeneralizations
  • Should statements
  • Selective attention
• Cognitive restructuring done right – thought records and pie charts
• How to design behavioural experiments and surveys that challenge clients unhelpful thought processes
• Imagery rescripting to revisit and resolve painful social memories
• Avoid common cognitive therapy mistakes and troubleshooting for common issues
• Adaptations for working with children and adolescents

• Common client and therapist misconceptions about exposure-based strategies
• Principles of effective versus ineffective exposure
• How to choose and plan the best exposure modality for socially anxious perfectionistic clients
  • In-vivo exposure
  • Simulated exposure and social skills training
  • Virtual reality
  • Imaginal exposure
  • Interoceptive exposure
• The latest inhibitory learning approaches to maximize exposure therapy
• Avoid common exposure therapy mistakes and troubleshooting for common issues
• Adaptations for working with children and adolescents

• Cultivate clients’ self-compassion and willingness to have internal experiences that are “negative”
• Strategies for facilitating clients’ mindfulness skills
• Facilitate behavioural change in line with clients’ core values

• How to monitor for and facilitate change talk in clients’ stories of social anxiety
• Effective rolling with the resistance of perfectionism
• Strategies for responding to discord in the therapy relationship
• Tips to improve out-of-session assignments

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Occupational Therapists
• Other mental health professionals