A few years ago, my 13 year old seventh grader called me to come pick her up at school. She said she felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. However, once home she experienced a full recovery. I didn’t think much of it until she began complaining about going to school every morning. She said she felt awkward and uncomfortable around her peers and that she could not tell if they liked her. She dreaded lunch because she was not sure who she would sit next to. It took more and more coercing to get her to go to school each day, until one morning she refused to get in the car and said she would rather die then go to school.
At this point it was clear to me that my daughter was suffering from social anxiety disorder. I knew this because I am a cognitive behavioral therapist who specializes in treating teens and adults with anxiety. However, treating the clients who come in to see me is completely different then treating my own daughter. In fact she made it very clear that she did not want me to try to be her therapist!
I did some research, looking for books that might help a teen with social anxiety. Social anxiety is the most common anxiety disorder, especially among teens, so I assumed that it wouldn’t be difficult to find a book to give to her. It turned out there were plenty of books for adults but none for teens. I knew my daughter wouldn’t read a thick, wordy book with adult situations and perspectives.
This experience with my daughter inspired me to write The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook for Teens. During the three years it took me to write the book my daughter made great strides and was very instrumental in helping me to keep a teen-friendly approach. I hope this book will help teens who suffer from this debilitating problem to know they are not alone and that there are effective solutions to overcoming their anxiety.
In addition to being the mother of three grown children I am the clinical director of the Santa Rosa Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Santa Rosa California. I have been a therapist since 1985 and have always worked with children as well as adults. I was originally trained as more of a psychodynamic or "talk" therapist. While it seemed my clients felt better, I was not seeing lasting change in their behavior. Then several years ago I attended a UC Berkeley course taught by my first mentor, Michael Tompkins Ph.D. on evidence based treatment. What this means is treatment that has been found by scientific studies to be the most effective for specific mental health problems. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT was found to be the most effective treatment for the most common disorders such as anxiety and depression. I began to avidly study CBT, going to workshops, reading books and consulting with masters in the field, including Michael Tompkins, Ph.D, Christine Padesky, PhD. and Jacquline Persons, Ph.D. Practicing CBT has been the most rewarding thing I have done.
Currently I work with children, teens and adults specializing in Anxiety Disorders, including Social Anxiety or extreme shyness, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Separation Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and some types of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. I am a Certified Diplomat of The Academy of Cognitive Therapy and a member of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, the Association For Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the International OCD Foundation.