affecting approximately 13.7% of Irish adults at any one point in time.
Menu: The Group
Initial Assessment.
NB. Before contacting Social Anxiety Ireland PLEASE explore all aspects of our website as you may find the answer to your query already addressed.
- We especially recommend that you read the pages on frequently asked questions.
We also recommend that you complete the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Test.
- If you score below 30 on this scale it is likely that your anxiety is of a different type, i.e., NOT social anxiety and therefore our programme will not be of much assistance for you.
- If you score between 30 and 60 on this scale then it is likely that you have a discrete form of social anxiety and our programme may indeed be of assistance to you.
- If you score above 60 then you likely have generalised social anxiety and again our programme may indeed be of assistance to you.
The Social Anxiety Intervention Group.
CBT Based Social Anxiety Programme.
If you are interested in applying for a place on our programme you will need to do the following.
Write to us via email or surface mail (see contact details below). Please note that we have limited support services here. Emails and phone messages are attended to only once a week – currently Wednesdays. We would strongly suggest you use a private personal email account when contacting us.
Social Anxiety Ireland,
PO BOX 42, Carmichael Centre,
4 Brunswick St,
Dublin 7, DO7 RHA8
So do be patient, if you do not receive an immediate reply. Rest assured, we will get back to you. However, if you do not receive a reply within 2 weeks PLEASE re contact us. Sometimes emails unfortunately do go astray.
Your letter should contain the following information:
-
-
-
- Your full name and address
- Your date of birth, contact telephone number – ideally a mobile number
- A brief account of what has led you to believe that you are experiencing Social Anxiety
- A brief account of the impact that Social Anxiety is having on your day-to-day functioning
-
-
Alternatively, Please use the following form to register for the Social Anxiety Group.
When we receive you letter of application your name will then be put on a waiting list. Applicants will be taken from this ‘self-referred’ list on a strictly first come first serve basis. While it is possible to say where somebody is on this waiting list it is very difficult to estimate with any great accuracy how long – in terms of time – it would be before one is offered a screening appointment.
The next step in the process is a screening interview. We tend to start screening for a suitable applicants approximate 12-14 weeks before the group is due to start. As already mentioned applicants are taken on a first serve first come basis (as far as possible) and screening continues until ten suitable applicants are identified. Screening allows us to determine if this programme is ‘suitable’ for potential applicants but is also provides the opportunity for applicants to ask questions and seek information about our programme.
We urge applicants to consider the commitment involved in attending our programme: 3 hours per week for fourteen week. Our programme operates a ‘closed’ group format – we start with ten and finish with the same ten people. Therefore, full attendance is extremely important for the healthy functioning of the group.
Suitable applicants are then offered a place on our programme. Currently we are offering 6 programmes a year. Individuals who successfully complete our programme are then invited to attend our follow-up support group, which meets twice a month on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
PLEASE let us know if you have changed any of your contact details – email address, mobile phone number or home address.
We try to restrict our communication with you to emails or texts. We will only use you home address as a lost resort. Please let us know if you do not want to receive any communication from us via regular mail to your home address. If you fail to respond to our emails / texts when we contact you for your screening appointment we will assume you no longer require our services and your name will be removed from our waiting list. So, do keep an eye on your emails / texts.
Cost
Since Feb 2016 Social Anxiety Ireland has establishing itself as a non-profit company (A Company limited by Guarantee). In December 2016 we were successful in our application to the Charity Regulatory Authority (CRA) and are therefore a ‘registered’ charity (20102685). Finally, in November 2017 we succeeded in becoming registered with revenue.ie charity section (CHY 21689).
While we are a not-for-profit charity there are significant costs to providing our treatment programme, which could not survive without contributions from participants. So the cost for
Screening Interview (to assess suitability for our programme) = Free
Place on intervention programme (14 weeks – 3 hour group) – 400 euro
( We are happy to negotiate the above fee on a one-to-one basis – we will try our best to facilitate and part fund applicants with financial difficulties)
Donations over and above that suggested above will be warmly appreciated.
Applicants are also expected too purchase a copy of the book ‘Overcoming Shyness and Social Anxiety’ by Gillian Butler (Robinson publishers)
Rationale for Screening
The purpose of the assessment process is to ensure that potential participants have an active principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (SAD) or/and Avoidant Personality Disorder.
Please note in order to avoid potential disappointment. If your social anxiety has improved to normal levels of anxiety in social situations while you have been on our waiting list – due to successful therapy or medications – we will consider you inappropriate for our programme.
We only offer places in our group treatment programme to individuals with an active diagnosis of social anxiety.
You might want to use our on-line questionnaire again prior to accepting a screening appointment.
The criteria for a diagnosis of SAD is based on the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There are a number of clinical presentations that can be confused with social anxiety – e.g., body dysmorphic disorder – and so the screening process aims to clarify this.
Unfortunately, there are a number of situations that would exclude potential applicants from participating in our programme. These situations tend to result in difficulties for the individual concerns and for the group process as a whole. They represent exclusion criteria that are commonly applied for groups of this nature. So, before applying for our programme please consider the following.
-
-
-
- Are you actively suicidal?
- Are you engaged in active substance misuse?
- Do you have unstable bipolar disorder?
- Are you actively psychotic?
- Do you have active intrusive symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
-
-
Potential applicants with a history of the above will be required to be stabilized for a minimum of 6 months prior to group start date.
Also, our programme is not suitable for individuals with learning difficulties and those with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder).
Finally, fears of humiliation or embarrassment that are more related to a medical condition – e.g., acne, or another mental disorder, e.g., verbal outburst in Tourette’s, need to be identified and again excluded from the group.
CBT Group Treatment
The programme, which largely adopts a cognitive
behavioural model, is conducted over fourteen weeks.
If you wish to apply for a place on our Social Anxiety
Programme please read and follow the instructions in
the section ‘Process of applying for a place in our
Social Anxiety Programme.’
We Need Your Help!
Donations
We’re 100% non-profit and rely on the good will of people like you to enable us to continue to provide this invaluable treatment for so many people throughout Ireland.
100% of your donation goes towards helping people with Social Anxiety Disorder.
Latest News & Events
With the support of people like you, we’ve been able to help thousands of people throughout Ireland. Keep up to date with all things SAI via our blog with weekly updates, news, service updates and helpful information.