Characteristics of patients with social phobia and their treatment in specialized clinics for anxiety disorders in the Netherlands

Characteristics of patients with social phobia and their treatment in specialized clinics for anxiety disorders in the Netherlands

Background: Social phobia frequently occurs in the general population but is probably underreported due to comorbid disorders which mask the social phobia. Another reason might be that patients do not consult their general pratitioner due to embarrassment or an estimation of their condition. There a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of affective disorders Vol. 65; no. 2; pp. 123 - 129
Main Authors: Dingemans, A.E, van Vliet, I.M, Couvée, J, Westenberg, H.G
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-07-2001
Elsevier
Subjects:
Adult
Anti-Anxiety Agents - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Comorbidity
Educational Status
Epidemiology
Female
Humans
Institution therapy. Inpatient treatment
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Phobic Disorders - psychology
Phobic Disorders - therapy
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Retrospective Studies
Social phobia
Treatment Outcome
Treatments
Netherlands
Europe
Phobic-disorders-therapy
Social phobia
Epidemiology
Treatment-outcome
Social environment
Human
Help seeking
Prognosis
Prevalence
Anxiety disorder
Mental health
Hospital environment
Retrospective
Symptomatology
Concomitant disease
Treatment
Mental disorder
Typology
Comparative study
Public health
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Social phobia frequently occurs in the general population but is probably underreported due to comorbid disorders which mask the social phobia. Another reason might be that patients do not consult their general pratitioner due to embarrassment or an estimation of their condition. There are several treatments available for social phobia, but not enough is known about the efficacy of the different treatments strategies. Methods: A retrospective, medical record-based study was carried out in four outpatient clinics specializing in treatment of anxiety disorders to investigate the characteristics of 64 patients with a DSM-IV axis diagnosis of social phobia who seeked help for their problems. Therapies for social phobia within these clinics and differences between these clinics were evaluated. Results: Men with a high educational level tended to seek more help and comorbid disorders tended to cause more impairment in functioning. Further, there is a large delay between onset and therapy attendance (mean 14 years). Finally, there was consistency in the treatment of social phobia in these four clinics which consisted of cognitive behavioral therapy and/or medication. Limitations: The study is retrospective and based on medical records which means there was no objective measurement of the effectiveness of the therapies. Conclusions: Seventy-five percent of patients improved after treatment independent of the kind of therapy, the occurrence of comorbid disorders and the type of social phobia.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0165-0327
1573-2517
DOI:10.1016/S0165-0327(00)00238-X