Search results

Meet the expert: Practical techniques for managing social anxiety in everyday clinical work, with Dr. Eleanor Leigh

We caught up with Dr. Eleanor Leigh, Associate Professor and MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow at the University of Oxford, to talk about practical techniques for managing social anxiety in everyday clinical work.

16 February 2026

Do children with social anxiety disorder benefit from social skills training?

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) in children can be difficult to treat, as evidenced by the varied outcomes reported post-treatment.1,2 Although childhood treatments for SAD commonly involve at least some social skills training,3 it isn’t clear whether children with SAD have particular difficulties with social skills. There is therefore a need to better establish whether social skills are an effective target for treating SAD.

14 December 2020

Are social networking sites contributing to depression and anxiety symptoms in young people?

Earlier this year, Elena Marie Piteo and Kelly Ward conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between social networking site (SNS) use and depression and anxiety symptoms in young people.

3 June 2020

Negative interpretation bias in adolescents with subclinical social anxiety disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a marked fear or anxiety of social situations where an individual may be exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Now, Yura Loscalzo and colleagues have examined the contribution of different components of interpretation bias — a model proposed to explain SAD whereby affected individuals systematically assign a threatening meaning to an objectively ambiguous stimulus with several possible interpretations.

1 November 2018

EEG data might help identify children at risk for social anxiety

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive method to monitor the electrical activity of the brain. There are five main broad frequency bands in the EEG power spectrum: alpha, beta, gamma, delta and theta. Data suggest that EEG-derived delta–beta coupling — indicating related activity in the delta and beta frequency bands — might serve as a marker of emotion regulation.

16 March 2021

Do the same mechanisms drive social anxiety in autistic and neurotypical adolescents?

Researchers at King’s College London have recently published data on how cognitive, emotional and sensory factors are associated with social anxiety in adolescents with autism.

11 June 2020

Social Fears in Children: The Roles of Parental Communication and Child Temperament

A recent longitudinal study by Zeytinoglu and colleagues (2025) provides insights into how parental verbal communication and child characteristics contribute to the transmission of social fears. The study shows the impact of both positive and negative maternal statements about ambiguous social situations, finding that positive comments were linked to reductions in children’s social fear beliefs, while negative comments predicted increases, especially among children who were behaviourally inhibited or had high anxiety.

20 August 2025

Practical techniques for managing social anxiety in everyday clinical work

Associate Professor Eleanor Leigh will focus on social anxiety in adolescents, with a strong emphasis on developing practical clinical skills. This advanced session will be ideal for professionals in child and family mental health who have therapeutic experience with children and families.

Event type

Introductory to Advanced

Location

LIVE STREAM

Coupled delta-beta wave activity might predict social anxiety in children

Researchers from McMaster University, Canada, have examined whether individual differences in salivary cortisol levels at baseline and parent-reported social anxiety levels are associated with resting, coupled delta–beta frontal wave activity.

11 July 2019

Anxiety – Increasing Understanding and Improving Awareness

Celebrating its twelfth year, Mental Health Awareness Week has chosen to focus on ‘Anxiety’ – to increase public understanding of anxiety and improve awareness of the impact it can have on lives. Everyone, in some shape or form, experiences anxiety. However, anxiety can become overwhelming and, in some cases, can evolve into an anxiety disorder.

This Mental Health Awareness Week (15 to 21 May 2023), we encourage you to explore the FREE learning opportunities available on our website, and to share with your networks, to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the impact of anxiety on children and young people.

15 May 2023