INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
HOLIDAYS GREAT SOURCE OF STRESS FOR SOME TEENS
Children with social anxiety disorder being sought for research study at NYSPI

WHO: Bruce Waslick, MD, Child Psychiatry
WHAT: Social Phobia and Teens
WHERE: NYS Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), 1051 Riverside Drive @ W. 165th

With the holidays around the corner, many young people are bracing themselves for an onslaught of anxiety-filled days amid the usual seasonal festivities. But, wait, isn’t the holidays about good cheer and good times? Not for those who suffer from social phobia or social anxiety. For those kids, who tend to be older, the thought of holiday dances and family gatherings is enough to send them into a state of “high anxiety”.

According to Dr. Bruce Waslick, a child psychiatrist who is conducting a study of treatment for anxiety disorders like social phobia in children and adolescents, “Social phobia is more than just shyness; it’s extreme shyness. If your teenager gets nervous before she has to go on a date, that’s normal. However, if she finds the idea of talking to a group of people, even relatives, at a holiday party excruciating then she may have social phobia.”

While the average teenager who’s a little shy can survive the season with minimal help, a socially phobic teen may need medication and/or psychotherapy. Dr. Waslick’s research is part of a multi-site study to determine the effectiveness of Zoloft and cognitive behavioral therapy in combination and alone for the treatment of social anxiety as well as generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.

12/03

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