Essential Strategies for Social Anxiety - by Alison McKleroy (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Embrace confidence--proven strategies to break free from social anxiety

Social connections are an integral part of a joyful life, yet when you're held back by self-conscious thoughts and feelings, you can get stuck in a pattern of avoiding social situations. Essential Strategies for Social Anxiety provides you with an effective toolbox to face your fears and feel confident whether you're having a conversation, interviewing for a job, or speaking publicly.

Drawing on a variety of practices--like CBT, ACT, and mindfulness--this guide not only teaches you all about social anxiety but also helps you employ actionable techniques to transform it. Learn to calm both body and mind, silence your inner critic, and restructure negative thoughts with practice dialogues, exposure exercises, meditation, and more.

Essential Strategies for Social Anxiety features:

• Exercises for everyone--No matter how your social anxiety manifests, discover powerful ways to overcome it and connect with people in a more comfortable way.
• Easy-to-follow advice--Each chapter covers a different approach to dealing with your social anxiety, with step-by-step exercises to get the results you want in your life.
• Everyday examples--Get inspired by real-life anecdotes that demonstrate how these techniques have helped other people achieve breakthroughs in dealing with social anxiety.

Start down the path to confidence and joy in your social life with this easy-to-use guide.

Review Quotes

"Essential Strategies for Social Anxiety provides the reader with a plethora of evidence-based clinical tools to tackle social anxiety in a manner that is compassionate and easy to understand. The material in the book would be a helpful addition to therapy or a great starting point for someone who wants to tackle their social anxiety on their own." --Elena Welsh, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Author, drelenawelsh.com

"Alison McKleroy's book is full of tested ideas, examples, and exercises that anyone who suffers from social anxiety can implement to get relief from the many different forms social anxiety may take and prevent it from coming back. The presentation of approaches, such as CBT, exposure, ACT, and other strategies, is concise and well-organized." --Edmund J. Bourne, Ph.D., Author of The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, 7th Edition

"If you think that you will always be stuck with your long-standing social embarrassment and avoidance, this clever little book is going to surprise you. Why? Because when you absorb only three or four simple concepts and put them into practice, you'll discover strong but dormant resources within you. Apply them, play big, and you'll be out into the world in no time." --Reid Wilson, PhD, Author of Stopping the Noise in Your Head

"In Essential Strategies for Social Anxiety, Alison McKleroy skillfully integrates the best-tested principles of cognitive behavioral therapy with the mindfulness-based techniques of acceptance and commitment therapy. If you're longing to live more fully and are ready to say 'enough!' to social anxiety, these powerful tools are for you." --Seth J. Gillihan, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, and Author of The CBT Deck

About the Author

ALISON McKLEROY, MA, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist and certified cognitive-behavioral therapist with more than 15 years of clinical experience. The founder of Center for Spark, she leads experiential, immersive courses and retreats that ignite lasting practices for joy, vitality, and connection. Alison lives near San Francisco, California, with her husband and two children. Find her online at www.centerforspark.com and www.therapyinrockridge.com