Go-OSCA Trial: Feasibility study examining the efficacy of Online Social anxiety Cognitive therapy for Adolescents (OSCA) for the treatment of social anxiety disorder in adolescents (AnDY Research Clinic Project ID: A01)

Many everyday activities, like meeting someone for the first time or speaking up in a group, are difficult for people with social anxiety disorder (SAD). People with SAD fear being watched and judged by others. Almost 1 in 10 will be affected by SAD in their lifetime. SAD typically starts in early adolescence and persists without treatment, and so providing help at this time is crucial. Currently, adolescents with SAD typically receive a general form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) called graded exposure-based CBT (we will use the term graded exposure from now on) that is used to treat all anxiety problems. Unfortunately, adolescents with SAD do less well than those with other anxiety problems from graded exposure and achieve only modest outcomes. In contrast, for adults, we have a highly effective treatment; cognitive therapy for SAD (CT-SAD) is the leading treatment and recommended for the NHS. An internet-version achieves similarly good outcomes as face-to-face treatment with 70% less therapist time. Our team has adapted this treatment for adolescents (which we have called Online Social anxiety Cognitive therapy for Adolescents, or OSCA). A preliminary waitlist-controlled study found it showed strong signs of reducing social anxiety. This study will investigate the feasibility of a full randomised controlled trial (RCT) to compare OSCA to graded exposure (which is currently recommended as standard NHS care) among young people aged 11-18 years old for whom SAD is their primary presenting problem.