Shyness 7: Self-guided Internet based education for social phobia with or without motivational strategies. A randomized controlled study

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Self-guided Internet based education for social phobia with written exercises to promote motivation (motivational strategies) with automatic email reminders, or; 2) Self-guided Internet based education for social phobia with automatic email reminders. All participants will meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for social phobia. All participants will complete 8 lessons of Internet based education about management of symptoms of anxiety and 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 reminder emails and will have access to written exercises to promote their motivation to continue with the program. Participants in group 2 will receive weekly reminder emails. The duration of the program is 10 weeks, but participants will be contacted 3 months post program and asked to complete follow-up questionnaires. Study questionnaires will be administered at application, pre-education, post-education, and at 3-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.