A New Model to Facilitate Individualized Case Conceptualization and Treatment of Social Phobia: An Examination and Reaction to Moscovitch's Model

Moscovitch's (2009) model of social phobia is put forth as an integration and extension of previous cognitive-behavioral models. The author asserts that his approach overcomes a number of shortcomings of previous models and will serve to better guide case conceptualization, treatment planning, and intervention implementation for clients with social phobia. Here I respond to these claims and examine the new and not-so-new aspects of Moscovitch's model. Moscovitch provides creative ways of thinking about feared stimuli and maladaptive methods for anxiety management used by clients with social phobia, and these notions may indeed expand our horizons, linking cognitive-behavioral thought to literatures on emotional suppression and emotion regulation. Other aspects of Moscovitch's thesis do provide heuristic and useful approaches to the assessment and treatment of social phobia which may be of great utility to the cognitive-behavioral clinician, but they do not provide a truly new approach to understanding the psychopathology or treatment of social phobia.