Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Treatment in Social Anxiety Disorder: A Case Report

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) also known as social phobia is an anxiety disorder characterised by an intense fear in one or more social situations causing considerable distress and impaired functioning in at least some parts of daily life as defined in DSM-V (APA 2013). There are primal fears in SAD such as to be in center of attention, talking nonsense in community, talking with strangers, eating or drinking with somebody else. These fears, anxiety or avoidance behaviors are continuous and persist for at least six months or longer. This situation cause personal distress and impairment of functioning in one or more domains, such as interpersonal or occupational functioning. The most common psychotherapeutic treatment approach in SAD is cognitive behavioral therapy method (Leichsenring & Leweke 2017).