Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent chronic condition with a large demand for treatment. This community outpatient study examined the effectiveness of a group intervention version of the established one-to-one cognitive therapy derived from the Clark and Wells model for SAD. Questionnaires were completed pre-treatment and post-treatment for SAD symptoms (Social Phobia Scale, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale), depressive symptoms (BDI-II), self-focused attention, safety behaviours (Social Phobia Weekly Summary Scale and Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination), and impaired functioning (Work and Social Adjustment Scale). From an initial sample of 159 participants, 101 completed at least seven of the nine weekly group sessions (Mage = 34.1 years, SDage = 10.8 years, 53% female). Significant improvements were demonstrated on all measures. Large effect sizes were found for social anxiety symptoms and safety behaviour use. Self-focused attention, depressive symptoms, and impaired functioning had moderate effect sizes. Effect sizes for anxiety (d = 1.00 and 1.32) and mood measures (d = 0.71) were as high, or in some cases, higher than previous group treatment studies. Results suggest group cognitive therapy for SAD based on the Clark and Wells model is effective in a clinical setting for individuals with moderate/severe and treatment-resistant social anxiety.

During psychotherapy some patients experience large symptom improvements between sessions, termed sudden gains. Most commonly, sudden gains are observed during treatment for depression (40–50% of participants), but these are occasionally also observed in treatment for anxiety (15–20%). This study investigated the impact of comorbid depression on sudden gains in a primary anxiety sample. It was hypothesised that sudden gains would occur more frequently in participants with anxiety and comorbid depression than anxiety-only participants. The sample consisted of 58 adults who participated in a 12-week transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioural therapy (tCBT) programme. Sudden gains were more frequent in the comorbid depression group than in the anxiety-only group. Sudden gains may be predominantly a function of depressive disorders, which supports the higher rates seen in depressive disorders compared with anxiety disorders. Future research should endeavour to replicate these findings, as this was the first study designed to specifically investigate comorbidity in sudden gains.

Triple P is a parenting programme used in the youth healthcare practice of many Dutch municipalities to support parents in raising their children. According to international research, this Australian intervention is effective for parents with children up to the age of 12. It shows positive effects on parenting skills and on the reduction of both parents' child-rearing stress and their children's behavioural and emotional problems. Our study examined the effectiveness of Teen Triple P level 4: a training programme for parents of teenagers aged 10–16. The programme included five group sessions of 1.5–2 h each, as well as three individual (phone) consultations. Through a matching procedure, 103 parents who participated in Teen Triple P were compared in a quasi-experimental study with 397 parents in a control group. Compared with the control group, parents who received the Teen Triple P training reported a significant improvement in their parental practice. Now, they are more involved with their child, more responsive to the needs of the children, and they report fewer parent–child conflicts. Some positive differences in behavioural problems among adolescents, as reported by their parents, could be found among the experimental group. These findings remained the same at the follow-up.

According to cognitive theories of social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation (FNE) may be the mechanism whereby social anxiety induces distress. However, studying this can be challenging, as individuals with social anxiety may be reluctant to enter anxiety-provoking social situations, such as speaking in front of others. The present study used virtual reality (VR) to examine if giving a presentation in front of a virtual audience induced distress among undergraduate students and to test the hypothesis that FNE would mediate the relationship between social anxiety and distress. University students (N = 58, 70% female) entered a VR environment where they stood in front of a virtual audience and gave a short, impromptu presentation about their university. Participants also completed self-report measures of social anxiety, FNE, and distress (estimated before, during, and after VR). Distress and FNE had positive relationships with social anxiety and FNE fully mediated the relationship between social anxiety and distress. As far as we are aware, this is the first VR study to show this effect. The findings indicate that FNE could be a useful treatment target to reduce distress when presenting in front of an audience, either in VR or in person.

While chronic worry is typically associated with cautious and harm-avoidant behaviours, there is evidence that people high in chronic worry are characterised by negative urgency (NU), that is, the propensity to act rashly when experiencing negative affect. The present study was a preliminary examination of how rash action and impulsive decision-making manifest for chronic worriers compared to individuals low in worry. In total, 93 participants who endorsed high and low worry and NU responded to open-ended questions about their experience of NU on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Themes were identified using a data-driven approach. Participants high in chronic worry endorsed significantly greater NU compared to those low in worry. However, the types of NU behaviours were similar across participants, with a majority of responses involving initiating interpersonal conflict. Other themes included spending money, excessive eating, alcohol use, and aggressive behaviours. The manifestations of NU were largely consistent with those described in the model of NU. Although individuals higher in chronic worry engaged in NU behaviours to a greater extent, the types of behaviours were similar to those reported by people lower in worry. More research is needed to understand the characteristics of NU-motivated behaviour in individuals high in chronic worry.