pediatrics
Social Anxiety Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Treatment
Behavioral therapy Sometimes an anxiolytic Behavioral therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for social anxiety disorder. Children should not be allowed to miss school. Absence serves only to make them even more reluctant to attend school. If children and adolescents are not sufficiently motivated to participate in behavioral therapy or do not respond adequately to it, an anxiolytic such as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) may help (see table Drugs for Long-Term Treatment of Anxiety and Related Disorders* ). Treatment with an SSRI may reduce anxiety enough to facilitate children’s participation in behavioral therapy. 