The efficacy of Hayes Anxiety Relief Technique versus the Self Control Triad in the treatment of public speaking anxiety

Abstract

Social phobia is the third most common mental disorder among adults. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of Hayes Anxiety Relief Technique (HART), a behavioural technique which employs in vivo exposure and a procedure developed to help manage anxiety, with The Self Control Triad (SCT), an imagery based covert conditioning technique, in the treatment of social phobia, specifically public speaking anxiety. Forty-two undergraduates from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia voluntarily participated. The participants were screened using the ADIS-IV then randomly assigned to either the HART, SCT or Control groups. The pretreatment session consisted of the administration of behavioural, cognitive and subjective measures of anxiety. Treatment sessions were conducted for one hour a week for three weeks. Post treatment measures were administered within one week of the end of treatment. The results showed that only the HART groups were significant statistically and improved the most clinically.