End Social Anxiety: Powerful CBT Tools For Everyone

Break the Cycle of Shame, Avoidance, and Fear of Rejection

Social anxiety affects over 15 million U.S. adults - and countless teens. Yet it often hides in plain sight.

Clients with social anxiety may seem high-functioning, polite, even successful. But beneath the surface, they're overwhelmed by fear: fear of embarassment, fear of being judged, and fear of rejection.

Left untreated, social anxiety quietly erodes confidence, connection, and quality of life. And despite having insight, many clients remain stuck in patterns of avoidance - resisting exposure and believing their anxiety is permanent. 

You'll Learn How to:

• Recognize the hidden symptoms and common disguises of social anxiety
• Set up powerful interpersonal exposure exercises you and clients actually want to do
• Use shame-attacking and self-disclosure strategies to dismantle avoidance
• Coach clients through real-life breakthroughs without pushing them too far too fast
• Overcome your own clinical hesitations about using exposure therapy

Interpersonal Exposure Techniques You'll Learn:

• Smile & Hello Practice - break fear of interaction with gentle micro-exposures
• Talk Show Host Technique - build conversational confidence in-session
• Rejection Practice - help clients become rejection-resilient
• Feared Fantasy -  defuse catastrophioc thinking
• Self-Disclosure - model and encourage authentic connection
• Survey Technique - gather real-world data to challenge incorrect assumptions
• Shame-Attacking Exercises - eliminate avoidance by neutralizing shame

You'll also see real therapy video excerpts, and hear clinical vignettes from Dr. Burns that will demonstrate how these tools transform client outcomes. 

Training Details:

Date: Wednesday, November 5 2025
Time: 11:00 AM PT - 1:00 PM PT/ 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
CE Credit: Earn 2 Continuing Education Units (CE)
Cost: Free

Open to: Therapists, mental health professionals, and the general public

Can’t attend live? Register anyway to receive the recording. CE credit is awarded only to those who attend live and complete the post-event survey.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

1. Describe the purpose of shame-attacking exercises

2. Explain how self-disclosure reduces social anxiety

3. Describe the Survey Technique and how to implement it effectively

Instructor Bios:

David Burns, MD, is an Adjunct Clincial Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavorial Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is an award-winning researcher and teacher, the bestselling author of self-help books, including Feeling Good, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, and the host of the Feeling Good podcast, which has received over 9 million downloads.

Dr. Burns was a pioneer in the development of cognitive therapy, and is the creator of TEAM-CBT, which makes rapid recovery from depression and anxiety possible. His Feeling Great app triggers 60% to 70% reductions in feelings of depression and anxiety in less than one day.

Dr. Burns graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, earned his MD from Stanford, and completed his psychiatry residency at the University of Pennsylvania. He later served as Acting Chief of Psychiatry at Penn and as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Jill Levitt is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Training at the Feeling Good Institute in Mountain View, CA.  Dr. Levitt has almost 20 years of experience conducting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and has been trained by some of the world’s leaders in CBT.  She has co-written several scholarly articles in the areas of OCD, PTSD and Panic Disorder. Most recently she has been co-teaching CBT with Dr. David Burns at the Stanford University School of Medicine in her role on the Adjunct Clinical Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She also trains other therapists in David Burns’ model of CBT called TEAM-CBT Therapy. She is a certified Level 5 Master Therapist and Trainer in TEAM-CBT Therapy.  Dr. Levitt teaches both in-person and online workshops for Feeling Good Institute on CBT methods, reducing resistance in psychotherapy, and improving the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

Continuing Education Accreditation

*The Feeling Good Institute (FGI) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Feeling Good Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Feeling Good Institute Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0175. The Feeling Good Institute (FGI) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6750. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. FGI is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Feeling Good Institute, #1442 is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Feeling Good Institute maintains responsibility for this course. Ace provider approval period: 05/30/2024-05/30/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 2 continuing education credit. Feeling Good Institute, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0678. A certificate of attendance will be emailed to attendees who attend 100% of the training within a week of completion of the workshop survey. Individuals with disabilities requiring special accommodations please contact Dr. Maor Katz at maor@feelinggoodinstitute.com.