Social anxiety in young people with first-episode psychosis: Pilot study of the EMBRACE moderated online social intervention.

AIM: We conducted a single-group pilot study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and safety of a novel online intervention (entitled EMBRACE) that includes expert and peer moderation, therapeutic comics and social networking features. The cognitive-behavioural-based intervention was specifically designed to treat social anxiety as a primary treatment target in youth with first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHODS: The 10 participants (17-26 years; Mage = 23 years) had a diagnosis of FEP and experienced significant levels of social anxiety as defined by exceeding a sub-threshold clinical score (>30) on the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). They had access to the EMBRACE intervention for 2 months. RESULTS: In total, seven out of ten participants completed eight modules or more (total of 12 modules). All participants rated the intervention as positive and safe, and endorsed recommending it to others who experience social anxiety. Improvement in pre-post social anxiety symptoms, as measured via the SIAS (d = -1.70, P = .0005) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (d = -1.35, P = .002) were found. No statistically significant pre-post improvements were found for depressive or loneliness symptoms. CONCLUSION: EMBRACE was shown to be a feasible, acceptable, and safe online intervention to specifically target social anxiety as a primary treatment concern in young people with FEP.

Leveraging the social network for treatment of social anxiety: Pilot study of a youth-specific digital intervention with a focus on engagement of young men.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to determine the acceptability, feasibility and safety of a novel digital intervention (Entourage) for young people with prominent social anxiety symptoms, with a particular focus on the engagement of young men. The secondary aim was to explore whether the intervention was associated with clinically significant improvements to clinical and social variables known to co-occur with social anxiety. METHOD: A multidisciplinary team comprising of mental health clinicians, researchers, young adult fiction writers, a comic artist and young people with a lived experience of social anxiety developed the Entourage platform in collaboration. Entourage combines evidence-based therapeutic techniques for social anxiety with an engaging, social-media-based interface that allows users to build social connections, while also receiving expert clinical moderation and support from peer workers. Acceptability, feasibility and safety outcomes of Entourage were tested in a 12-week pilot study with 89 young people (48.3% male; age M = 19.8 years, SD = 3.3 years). Eligible participants were recruited via liaison with four headspace early-intervention centres in north-western Melbourne. RESULTS: 56.8% of the sample reported social anxiety symptoms in the severe or very severe range at baseline. Results demonstrated the Entourage intervention was feasible, safe, and potentially acceptable, with 98.6% of participants reporting they would recommend Entourage to another young person experiencing social anxiety. Usage results were also comparable across male and non-male participants. Results showed that young people reliably and significantly improved on clinical and social variables. In particular, young males showed a clinically significant improvement on social anxiety symptoms (d = 0.79, p < .001), depression (d = 0.71, p < .001), belongingness (d = 0.58, p = .001), increased feelings of social connectedness (d = 0.46, p = .004) and decreased loneliness (d = 0.46, p = .006). Non-male participants also experienced a significant increase in social connectedness (d = 0.76, p < .001), alongside reduced social anxiety (d = 0.78, p < .001) and experiential avoidance (d = 0.81, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Entourage is a highly engaging and potentially effective intervention that represents a novel combination of features designed both to reduce social anxiety symptoms and improve social connection among young people. Entourage demonstrated some acceptability, feasibility and safety, with encouraging benefits to clinical and social variables. Entourage also showed favorable results for the engagement and support of young men with social anxiety symptoms.

Development of a Moderated Online Intervention to Treat Social Anxiety in First-Episode Psychosis.

Background: It is well established that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a significant clinical problem for individuals with a psychotic disorder. Comorbid social anxiety in individuals with psychosis has been associated with poorer premorbid functioning, increased depression, and a reduced quality of life. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is recommended for people with psychosis as a first-line psychological treatment; however, its focus and evaluation primarily revolves around reducing psychotic symptoms and not necessarily targeting comorbid social anxiety symptoms. We developed a novel online social cognitive behavioral intervention (entitled EMBRACE) specifically designed to treat social anxiety symptoms in first episode psychosis (FEP). Methods: The key clinical and engagement features of the intervention were established through integrating evidence-based material derived from 1) CBT-based treatment models for SAD, 2) relevant literature findings related to psychosis and its clinical correlates (e.g., shame, social rank, and its relationship with social anxiety and paranoia), 3) feedback from youth focus groups in order to inform a user-centered intervention design, and 4) a highly multidisciplinary collaborative development approach to design therapy comics. Results: A detailed description of the final version of the 12-week online social intervention to treat social anxiety in FEP is presented. Conclusion: The EMBRACE intervention was designed to provide young people with the necessary skills and confidence to overcome social anxiety within a supportive, safe online space. By design, it allows young people the opportunity to practice their newly learnt skills to connect with others and in doing so, learn to embrace their true authentic selves.