The Therapist Thrival Guide 95. Social Anxiety in Kids and Adults: Real Talk + Helpful Tools
In this short but meaningful episode, Miranda (a licensed clinical social worker) is joined by fellow therapists Letisha and Gina for a real conversation about social anxiety. They break down how it can show up in both kids and adults, and share effective ways to treat it—including CBT, ACT, and the power of social stories.
You’ll also hear about tools like the SCARED assessment that help guide diagnosis and treatment. Whether you're a clinician or just curious, you'll walk away with practical strategies and insight to better understand and manage social anxiety.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
00:32 Understanding Social Anxiety
01:40 Diagnosing Social Anxiety in Kids
03:59 Treating Social Anxiety: CBT and ACT
07:26 Using Social Stories for Anxiety
13:19 Exposure Therapy and EMDR
14:45 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The Therapist Thrival Guide is a podcast by Ellie Mental Health. We want to move therapists beyond surviving and into the realm of thriving by covering all the things that graduate school didn't teach you! This mental health podcast is hosted by Miranda Barker, LICSW and a rotating cast of seasoned therapists. Each episode features a therapist speaking to their areas of expertise to help us learn how to thrive as therapists.
Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW, has been practicing as a therapist for over three years. She previously worked as a child protection investigator, adoption social worker, and case manager. She's new to the therapy game and loves soaking up all of the knowledge from the expert therapists in her life. She's currently the Director of Content and Production at Ellie Mental Health's in-house creative agency and believes that creativity is an important aspect of mental health care.
The Therapist Thrival Guide is one of many creative productions from Ellie Mental Health. Ellie is a national mental health brand organized around community-based outpatient mental health clinics. It all began with a single office in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2015, and since then has expanded to over 24 clinics in Minnesota and an explosive number of locations nationwide after franchising our model in 2021. Ellie will be opening over 500 locations in communities nationwide with new clinics opening each week. #therapy