Evaluation of a smartphone application for self-help for patients with social anxiety disorder: a randomized controlled study-SMASH.

Background: There is growing evidence that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) is as effective as a stand-alone treatment and helps facilitating access to treatment. Given the complexity of the treatment, we argue that the effect of ICBT could be even greater if guided by a therapist, as this could increase treatment adherence. We modified an established and well-evaluated treatment approach and developed a mobile application for treating social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Evaluation of a brief cognitive behavioral group intervention to reduce depersonalization in students with high levels of trait test anxiety: a randomized controlled trial.

Students with high levels of test anxiety frequently experience depersonalization during examinations. We investigated whether a brief cognitive behavioral group intervention reduces these symptoms. Randomized controlled trial.

Modest, yet progressive: Effective therapists tend to rate therapeutic change less positively than their patients.

Empirical findings on self-serving biases amongst psychotherapists are inconsistent. We tested in a large naturalistic data set, if therapists are prone to illusory superiority when estimating their patients' outcome and whether this effect is buffered by therapists' effectiveness. A post-hoc analysis with  = 69 therapists, who treated  = 1080 patients, was conducted.

Depersonalization Under Academic Stress: Frequency, Predictors, and Consequences.

Background: Based on the assumptions that depersonalization symptoms are relevant for test anxiety maintenance, we examined their frequency, psychological predictors, association with anxiety symptoms, and association with test performance.

Sampling And Methods: In Study 1, 203 students rated their test anxiety severity and depersonalization in their last oral examination. In Study 2, we assessed test anxiety 1 week before an oral examination, depersonalization, safety behaviors, self-focused attention, and negative appraisals of depersonalization directly after the examination, and post-event processing 1 week later among 67 students.

Reduction of depersonalization during social stress through cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial.

Symptoms of depersonalization during feared social situations are commonly experienced by individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Despite its clinical relevance, it is not addressed in standard treatment manuals and it remains unclear if depersonalization is reduced by well-established treatments. This study investigated whether cognitive therapy (CT) for SAD effectively reduces depersonalization and whether pre-treatment severity of depersonalization predicts or mediates treatment outcome.

Mapping the Beck Depression Inventory to the EQ-5D-3L in Patients with Depressive Disorders.

Background: For cost-utility analyses, data on health state utilities, as provided by the EQ-5D-3L, is needed but not always available. This study specified mapping algorithms from the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) index to the EQ-5D-3L index adjusted for specific socio-demographic variables for patients with depressive disorders.

Aims Of The Study: The objective of this study was to specify mapping algorithms from the BDI index to the preference-based EQ-5D index for patients with depressive disorders, adjusting for specific socio-demographic variables.

Long-term cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy versus psychodynamic therapy in social anxiety disorder.

Background: To determine the cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) versus psychodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of social anxiety disorder after a follow-up of 30 months from a societal perspective.

Methods: This analysis was conducted alongside the multicenter SOPHO-NET trial; adults with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder received CBT (n = 209) or PDT (n = 207). Data on health care utilization and productivity loss were collected at baseline, after 6 months (posttreatment), and three further follow-ups to calculate direct and indirect costs.

Risk Factors for Sexual Offending in Men Working With Children: A Community-Based Survey.

Identifying risk factors for sexual abuse in men who work with children and who have already abused a child could lead to more appropriate screening and prevention strategies and is thus of major scientific and societal relevance. A total of 8649 German men from the community were assessed in an extensive anonymous and confidential online survey. Of those, 37 (0.

Short-term cost-effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder: Results from the SOPHO-NET trial.

Background: To investigate the short-term cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy (PDT) compared to waiting list (WL).

Methods: The analysis was conducted alongside the SOPHO-NET multi-center efficacy trial. Patients were randomly assigned to CBT (n=209), PDT (n=207), or WL (n=79).

The German Version of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS): A Psychometric and Clinical Investigation.

Unlabelled: The Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) was developed to measure core concepts of behavioural activation for depression. A number of studies, mostly based on analogue samples, have provided initial support for the BADS. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the German version of the scale more broadly, including change sensitivity and clinical treatment data.

Baseline Patient Characteristics Predicting Outcome and Attrition in Cognitive Therapy for Social Phobia: Results from a Large Multicentre Trial.

Unlabelled: We examined the role of baseline patient characteristics as predictors of outcome (end-state functioning, response and remission) and attrition for cognitive therapy (CT) in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Beyond socio-demographic and clinical variables such as symptom severity and comorbidity status, previously neglected patient characteristics (e.g.

The reaction to social stress in social phobia: discordance between physiological and subjective parameters.

Background: Research on the biopsychological background of social phobia (SP) is scarce and inconsistent. We investigated endocrine and autonomic markers along with subjective responses to a standardized stress situation (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) in SP patients and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: We examined 88 patients with the primary diagnosis of SP as well as 78 age and sex comparable HCs with the TSST.

Stigmatizing attitudes towards people with pedophilia and their malleability among psychotherapists in training.

Offering counseling and psychotherapy to patients with pedophilia is considered an essential part of sexual abuse prevention by many experts in the field. Yet, professionals' willingness to offer treatment might be compromised by stigmatizing attitudes towards these patients. In the present study, we developed and tested a 10-min online intervention (including educational material and a video about a person with pedophilia) to reduce stigma and increase motivation to work with this particular patient group.

Long-term outcome of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder.

Objective: Relatively few studies have examined the long-term outcome of psychotherapy in social anxiety disorder. The authors previously reported findings of a clinical trial comparing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and a wait-list control. The purpose of the present study was to follow the participants' status over the ensuing 24 months.

Stigmatization of people with pedophilia: two comparative surveys.

Despite productive research on stigma and its impact on people's lives in the past 20 years, stigmatization of people with pedophilia has received little attention. We conducted two surveys estimating public stigma and determining predictors of social distance from this group. In both studies, pedophilia was defined as a "dominant sexual interest in children.

The costs of social anxiety disorder: the role of symptom severity and comorbidities.

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with low direct costs compared to other anxiety disorders while indirect costs tend to be high. Mental comorbidities have been identified to increase costs, but the role of symptom severity is still vague. The objective of this study was to determine the costs of SAD, and to explore the impact of symptoms and comorbidities on direct and indirect costs.

Psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE Various approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) have been shown to be effective for social anxiety disorder. For psychodynamic therapy, evidence for efficacy in this disorder is scant. The authors tested the efficacy of psychodynamic therapy and CBT in social anxiety disorder in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Depersonalization/derealization during acute social stress in social phobia.

The present study aimed at investigating how frequently and intensely depersonalization/derealization symptoms occur during a stressful performance situation in social phobia patients vs. healthy controls, as well as testing hypotheses about the psychological predictors and consequences of such symptoms. N=54 patients with social phobia and N=34 control participants without mental disorders were examined prior to, during, and after a standardized social performance situation (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST).

Generalized implicit fear associations in generalized anxiety disorder.

Background: Cognitive schema theories of anxiety postulate that higher-level cognitive processes such as attention and memory are guided by underlying distorted fear associations. While numerous studies investigated these disorder-specific, biased processes, hardly any research addressed the underlying schemata themselves. In particular, no study has ever addressed implicit fear associations in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder: don't worry, it works!

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) differs from other anxiety disorders. Patients do not fear a specific external object or situation; there is no distinct symptomatic reaction pattern; and the feared scenarios are not bizarre, improbable, or inflexible. Avoidance, although central, is less obvious and often is prominent only on the cognitive-emotional level.

Can a one-weekend group therapy reduce fear of blushing? Results of an open trial.

Fear of blushing is a specific syndrome generally subsumed under the diagnostic category of social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aims at gathering preliminary data about an intensive weekend intervention specifically designed for individuals with fear of blushing as the predominant complaint. Treatment consisted of a combination of attention training and behavioral therapy.