The Effectiveness of Heimberg and Becker Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy in Improving Female Adolescents Social Anxiety and Cognitive Flexibility

Individuals with social phobia don’t have a flexible approach to deal with stress and they are weak to practice social skills. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Heimberg- Becker group cognitive- behavioral therapy in Improving Female Adolescents Social Anxiety and Cognitive Flexibility. In this experimental design, 24 patients with social phobia were selected from 2013-2014 highschool female students of Esfarayen, Iran. They randomly assigned to experimental (Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy Heimberg- Becker) and control groups. All subjects of both groups responded to Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), and Clinical Global Index (CGI) at pre and post treatment. Data were analyzed by t-test and multiple analyses of variance (MANOVA) using SPSS-19 statistical package and P values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Also, improvement percents were computed. Results showed that CBGT compared to control group lead to more significant improvement in cognitive flexibility and social anxiety (P<0.001). Experimental group subjects showed significantly more pre- to post-treatment percentage improvements in all variables (P<0.001). They were more satisfied with treatment method and reported more global improvement (P<0.001) than control group subjects. The Heimberg- Becker Group Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy (CBGT) is effective in improving female adolescents social anxiety and cognitive flexibility.