Helping Students Overcome Social Anxiety

“For any practitioner who has struggled with helping adolescents conquer school-based anxiety, Helping Students Overcome Social Anxiety: Skills for Academic and Social Success is a clear, comprehensive guide that can be a serious game-changer….Both novice and seasoned school psychologists can find something of value here….The book is highly recommended to anyone who seeks to understand and treat anxious teens at school.”

—NASP Communiqué


“Until now, there has not been a good resource to assist school practitioners in addressing the highly prevalent problem of social anxiety in adolescents. Based on a solid foundation of evidence-based practices, this definitive book supplies critically needed guidance. Within a response-to-intervention framework, the authors show how to identify social anxiety, develop and implement interventions, provide schoolwide education, promote generalization of skills, and involve parents to increase their understanding and supportiveness. Without question, this book will be widely used in schools and will be an invaluable resource for graduate education. It also will help to fuel an interconnected training, practice, research, and policy agenda to reduce the impacts of social anxiety and improve students’ school success. Kudos to the authors!”

—Mark D. Weist, PhD, Clinical–Community and School Psychology Programs, University of South Carolina


“This outstanding book provides state-of-the-art intervention strategies for helping adolescents overcome social anxiety. It is incredibly timely, given that anxiety problems in youth are common and interfere significantly with academic, social, and family functioning. The book will be invaluable for professionals working to identify and address social anxiety in the school setting. Written by leaders in the field, this is a premier guide for promoting teens' psychological well-being and school performance.”

—Donna B. Pincus, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Child and Adolescent Fear and Anxiety Treatment Program, Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University


“As a mental health professional working in public schools for over 15 years, I have witnessed how debilitating social anxiety can become for students. It adversely impacts students and their families and can have long-term negative implications for school performance. This 'must-read' book provides practitioners and educators with a blueprint for a collaborative treatment approach that can help adolescents achieve their full potential in social situations, school, and life.”

—Dawn M. McNichol, MA, school psychologist, Madison Public Schools, New Jersey


“Masia Warner, Colognori, and Lynch have done an outstanding job presenting their well-supported approach, and have done so in a remarkably reader-friendly fashion. The school setting is exactly where we need to be treating adolescents with social anxiety. This much-needed book offers a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Full of proven strategies, techniques, and case illustrations, this first-rate work is essential reading for school-based personnel and mental health professionals working to combat social anxiety in kids.”

—Jonathan Comer, PhD, Department of Psychology, Florida International University


“This book offers an engaging introduction to social anxiety and its prevention and intervention. It is well suited for a range of prospective and practicing school-based mental health providers. The case examples and session resources help the reader translate complex concepts in research and intervention into practical strategies that are highly applicable in school settings. With its clear and explicit descriptions, scripts, and reproducible tools, this is an excellent guide for professionals delivering evidence-based mental health services to adolescents in schools.”

—Sally L. Grapin, PhD, NCSP, Department of Psychology, Montclair State University