Who Will Benefit
Psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health care professionals. To determine whether this article meets the continuing education requirements of your specialty, please contact your state licensing and certification boards.

Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should be familiar with:

• Strategies used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of severe mental illness
• Treatment approaches
• The benefits and challenges of using CBT

Needs Assessment
Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also referred to as social phobia, is a chronic and potentially disabling anxiety disorder characterized by the intense and persistent fear of being scrutinized or negatively evaluated by others. At its core, people with this disorder fear and/or avoid the scrutiny of others. Symptoms may occur only in  circumscribed situations, such as a fear of speaking in formal or informal situations, or eating or drinking in front of others. More commonly, in SAD’s most severe form, symptoms arise in a variety of social situations.

To earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™:
Read the article and complete the posttest and the evaluation. (Note: A score of at least 80% must be achieved in order to be awarded credit.)

The posttest will be scored instantly and results will be shown onscreen. Please make a copy of your test results for your continuing education records. After submitting the activity evaluation, you may then print a Statement of Credit for your records.

Accreditation
CME LLC is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

CME LLC designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Financial Disclosures
Dr Saeed is professor and chairman of the department of psychiatric medicine at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and chief of psychiatry at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville, NC. He reports no conflicts of interest concerning the subject matter of this article.