Self-guided Internet based education for social phobia: A randomized controlled study

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Self-guided Internet based education for social phobia with automatic email and sms reminders, or; 2) self-guided Internet based education for social phobia with automatic email and sms reminders, and weekly telephone reminders from an administrative assistant. All participants will meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for social phobia. All participants will complete 6 lessons of Internet based education about management of symptoms of social phobia. One lesson will be completed every 7 to 10 days. Each lesson will take about 15 minutes to complete. Participants will also have access to summaries of each lesson, and will read anonymous stories about other people with social phobia, taking a further 20 minutes per summary. Participants in Group 1 will receive weekly emails and fortnightly sms reminder messages to continue with the program. Participants in group 2 will receive weekly emails and fortnightly sms reminder messages as well as weekly telephone reminders from a research assistant. The duration of each phone call is expected to be 2 minutes. The duration of the program is 8 weeks, but participants will be contacted 6 months post program and asked to complete follow-up questionnaires. Study questionnaires will be administered at application, pre-education, post-education, and at 6-months post-education. These will take about 20 minutes to complete. The educational materials are based on the Shyness Program, which applies cognitive behavioural techniques.