Emotional working memory training as a potential treatment for social anxiety disorder

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating psychological disorder characterised by the fear of being scrutinised by others, becoming embarrassed, offending others, and avoidance of social situations. SAD is highly prevalent, causes significant functional impairment, and is often comorbid with other anxiety and depressive disorders. Gold-standard evidence-based treatments for SAD (i.e., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy [CBT], antidepressants) have not provided the desired relief from social anxiety symptoms for many individuals with SAD. Therefore, the exploration of alternative interventions that are cost effective, easily accessible, autonomous, and provide flexibility with respect to incorporating treatment into one’s lifestyle is needed. Emotional working memory training (eWMT) shows potential as a treatment option for SAD due to: previous research finding significant positive outcomes (i.e., symptom decrease) when using forms of working memory training (WMT) in the treatment of anxiety-, depressive/mood- and stress-related disorders (AMS disorders), its ability to improve cognitive control of affective information, and its targeting of the prefrontal cortex of the brain - which is implicated in both working memory and SAD. Therefore, the broad aim of this program of research was to explore the efficacy of eWMT as a potential treatment for SAD. The overall results of this program of research suggests that, firstly, more rigorous studies are needed that evaluate forms of WMT in the treatment of AMS disorders/symptoms. Rigorous studies are needed to address the methodological and reporting issues identified in the systematic review, so that higher-quality evidence can be produced to evaluate WMT’s efficacy in future. Secondly, this program of research suggests that a 15-session x 20-minute course of eWMT has the potential to be used as an efficacious form of treatment to reduce SAD symptoms and may be comparable to gold-standard evidence-based treatments such as CBT. However, the efficacy of eWMT for SAD may be hindered by attitudes towards it, and to promote eWMT as a form of treatment for SAD, further strategies other than psychoeducation may need to be implemented to increase consumer engagement.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University