Page No:118-128
Rhea Mankotia, Sonia Puar, and Vikas Jain
Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear or anxiety in social situations
where the individual anticipates being scrutinized or negatively evaluated by others. In
the present case study, the Clark and Wells cognitive model was employed to
conceptualize the case, provide psychoeducation, and guide the intervention. The client,
a 31-year-old Indian male, presented to a psychiatric facility with complaints of social
inadequacy, hand tremors, excessive sweating, stammering during public speaking,
and heightened nervousness when interacting with individuals of the opposite sex. The
clinical material derived from the client’s experiences was analyzed to identify the
dysfunctional assumptions activated in social contexts, which elicited perceived social
threat and, consequently, the emergence of safety behaviours along with somatic and
cognitive symptoms. The individual’s self was ultimately processed as a social object,
thereby reinforcing the perception of social danger and maintaining the cycle of anxiety