Background and Purpose: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent mental health issue characterized by excessive fear of negative evaluation in social situations. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has emerged as a effective intervention for anxiety disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EMDR on SAD symptoms.
Method: This research employed a randomized controlled trial design. The participants were 24 individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder from the counseling center and clinical psychology clinic of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. They randomly assigned to either the experimental group receiving EMDR therapy or the control group waiting list. SAD symptoms were assessed using social phobia inventory (Connor et al. 2000) and fear of negative evaluation scale (Watson and Friend, 1969) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with two independent groups T test in SPSS-21 software.
Findings: The results indicated a significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms among participants who received EMDR therapy compared to those in the control group. Specifically, a notable decrease was observed in the level of social anxiety, avoidance behaviors, fear, and physiological arousal after EMDR therapy; however, no significant difference was observed in the fear of negative evaluation variable between the two groups.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that EMDR therapy may be an effective intervention for reducing social anxiety symptoms. Incorporating EMDR into clinical practice could provide individuals with social anxiety disorder a valuable treatment option to alleviate their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life.