How to find a therapist for social anxiety

The best-tested therapy for social anxiety is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) made specifically for it. The version with the strongest results is cognitive therapy for social anxiety, often called CT-SAD. When you look for a therapist, ask whether they use it, or another CBT made for social anxiety. Ask them how they work. Then check the free or low-cost routes in your country.

What kind of therapy to look for

CBT made for social anxiety. CBT is a talking therapy that helps you change the thoughts and habits that keep fear going. A study that combined 101 trials found that individual CBT for social anxiety helped more than any other treatment compared with waiting. It was one of only two treatments that also clearly beat a placebo.

Cognitive therapy for social anxiety (CT-SAD), if you can find it. This is a type of CBT built on the loop that keeps social anxiety going. It uses video feedback, dropping safety behaviours and moving attention outward. In one trial, 84% of people who had it no longer had social anxiety disorder at the end. More on cognitive therapy for social anxiety.

Online versions count. An internet version of CT-SAD, with a therapist guiding you, worked as well as face-to-face therapy in a trial of 102 people in England, with much less therapist time. It is now offered in some NHS services and has been tested in Hong Kong. If talking face to face feels too much, this can be a smaller first step.

Individual rather than group, where you have a choice. UK guidelines (NICE) say group CBT should not routinely be offered instead of individual CBT. Group CBT still helps many people. See group CBT.

Be careful with “general” talk therapy. Supportive counselling that only lets you talk is kind, but NICE does not recommend it for social anxiety. Ask what the therapist will actually do.

Questions to ask before you start

You can ask these by email. A good therapist will be glad you asked.

1. “Have you treated social anxiety before? How often?”
2. “Do you use CBT for social anxiety? Do you use cognitive therapy for social anxiety (the Clark and Wells model)?”
3. “Will we do exposure or behavioural experiments, so I practise feared situations, not just talk about them?”
4. “Do you use video feedback?”
5. “Do you offer VR exposure therapy?” (see below)
6. “How many sessions do people usually have? How will we know if it is working?”
7. “Do you offer online or phone sessions?”
8. “What do you charge? Do you take my insurance? Do you have lower fees for people on low incomes?”

If a therapist promises a cure in one session, or can’t tell you how they will work on social anxiety, keep looking.

Ask about VR exposure

Some therapists use virtual reality (VR) exposure: you wear a headset and practise feared situations, such as speaking in a meeting, in a virtual room. The therapist controls how hard it is.

Inside therapy, VR exposure works about as well as practising in real life, and much better than waiting. Many people find it a gentler first step, because they can start small and repeat a moment as often as needed. Not every clinic has the equipment, so it is worth asking. The trials are small, and VR is usually one part of a course of CBT, not the whole thing. Read more in VR exposure therapy and the full guide to VR.

Free and low-cost routes by country

These were checked on official sites in November 2026. Rules change, so check the current details.

England (UK). You can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP. It covers social anxiety and offers CBT and guided self-help. It is for people aged 18 or over (16 or over in some areas) who are registered with a GP. Waiting times vary by area. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, ask your GP.

United States. Marketplace health plans must cover mental health care, including psychotherapy, and limits can’t be stricter than for medical care. Check which therapists your plan covers. If you don’t have insurance, ask therapists and community clinics about a sliding scale: a fee based on your income. Some university training clinics also offer lower fees.

Australia. A doctor can write a mental health treatment plan that gives you Medicare-subsidised sessions: up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions each calendar year. The doctor first refers you for up to 6, then more if needed. Psychologists set their own fees, so you may still pay part of the cost.

Canada, Ireland and elsewhere. Public cover for therapy differs a lot between provinces and countries. Ask your family doctor what is free locally, and check whether your workplace or student health plan pays for therapy.

If you can’t get a therapist yet

Waiting lists can be long. While you wait:

• A CBT self-help book is a real option. In a Swedish trial, a self-help book alone helped more than waiting, and the gains lasted a year.
• Internet CBT programmes can often be started quickly.
• You can begin small steps of exposure on your own.

If contacting a therapist is itself the hard part, see when booking is hard for scripts and email templates.