Treatment Areas · Social Anxiety Therapy
Social Anxiety Therapy in Burlington & Across Ontario
Spend less time worrying about how you’re coming across.
Social anxiety can make everyday interactions feel like something you need to prepare for, perform well in, or replay afterward. Therapy can help you spend less time monitoring yourself and avoiding judgment, and more time participating in the situations and relationships that matter to you.
Session Fee
Free Consultation
$180
15 minutes
No charge
50-minute session
Format
Availability
In person in Burlington
Daytime & evening
Virtual Across Ontario
Appointments available
About · Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is more than being shy.
When you’re worried about being judged, it can be hard to stop watching yourself.
Social anxiety involves fear of being judged, embarrassed, rejected, or negatively evaluated by others. This can make ordinary interactions feel unusually high-stakes, even when part of you recognizes that the situation isn't actually dangerous.
You might rehearse what you're going to say, monitor how you look or sound, avoid drawing attention to yourself, or rely on certain behaviours to make an interaction feel safer.
And it doesn't always end when the interaction does. You may replay conversations afterward, analyze how you came across, or look for signs that you said or did something wrong.
When fear of judgment starts shaping how you show up.
Social anxiety can affect much more than public speaking or meeting new people. It can influence how much you participate, what you say, the opportunities you pursue, and how present you feel when you're around others.
Rehearsing what to say
Planning conversations in advance or mentally preparing responses so you don't say the “wrong” thing.
Fear of embarassment
Worrying about saying something awkward, making a mistake, looking anxious, or being perceived negatively.
Monitoring yourself
Paying close attention to your voice, facial expressions, body language, blushing, sweating, or how anxious you appear.
Post-event overthinking
Replaying conversations afterward and analyzing what you said, how you looked, or what someone else might have thought.
Avoiding attention
Staying quiet, avoiding eye contact, arriving late, leaving early, or trying not to do anything that might draw attention to you.
Missing out because of anxiety
Turning down social plans, opportunities, dating, presentations, classes, work situations, or other experiences because of fear of judgment.
Evidence-based treatment can help you understand what keeps social anxiety going and begin changing the habits that make social situations feel increasingly difficult.
How therapy for social anxiety can help
Shifting attention outward
Practice becoming more engaged with what's happening around you rather than constantly monitoring how you're coming across.
Rely less on rehearsing, overpreparing, avoiding eye contact, staying quiet, or other strategies used to prevent negative judgment.
Reducing safety behaviours
Notice assumptions about judgment, embarrassment, or rejection and develop more balanced ways of interpreting social experiences.
Changing how you interpret social situations
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Through therapy, we may help you…
reduce avoidance of social situations
challenge self-critical patterns
build confidence expressing yourself
feel more present and connected around others
navigate social situations with less fear and overwhelm
Social anxiety isn't usually a matter of not knowing what to say. Often, the fear of judgment and the strategies used to prevent it are what make interactions feel increasingly difficult.
At Ascend, we use evidence-based approaches including CBT, exposure-based therapy, and ACT to address the thoughts, attention patterns, avoidance, and safety behaviours that can maintain social anxiety.
Treatment may involve gradually approaching feared social situations, experimenting with reducing safety behaviours, shifting self-focused attention, and examining beliefs about judgment and rejection.
Your treatment is individualized based on the situations you find difficult, the patterns that show up around them, and what you want social anxiety to stop getting in the way of.
Social Anxiety Therapy at Ascend
Treatment goes beyond learning conversation skills.
Meet Our Social Anxiety Therapists
At Ascend Anxiety Clinic, our therapists understand how social anxiety can affect the way you connect with others, navigate everyday interactions, and show up in the parts of life that matter to you. We use evidence-based approaches including CBT, ACT, and exposure-based therapy, with treatment tailored to your individual experiences and goals.
Jordan Best
Emma Weber
Therapy that fits your life.
Meet with your therapist face-to-face at our Burlington office, located at The Therapy Commons. In-person sessions are available for teens and adults.
In Person · Therapy In Burlington
Virtual · Therapy Across Ontario
Meet with your therapist securely online from wherever you are in Ontario, making it easier to fit therapy into your schedule without needing to travel.
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Anxiety Therapy
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Shyness is a personality trait and doesn't necessarily cause significant distress or interfere with someone's life. Social anxiety involves a stronger fear of judgment or negative evaluation that can lead to avoidance, distress, or difficulty participating in situations you would otherwise want to be part of.
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Yes. Social anxiety isn't always obvious from the outside. Someone may appear social or confident while internally monitoring everything they say, rehearsing extensively, seeking reassurance, or replaying interactions afterward.
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Post-event processing is common in social anxiety. You may review an interaction in an attempt to determine whether you embarrassed yourself or were judged negatively. Although it can feel like problem-solving, repeatedly reviewing interactions can reinforce the idea that your social performance needs to be closely monitored.
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Often, yes. Exposure can involve gradually entering social situations that you've been avoiding while reducing the safety behaviours you typically use to prevent judgment or embarrassment. Exposure is planned collaboratively based on your individual fears and goals.
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Not necessarily. Many people with social anxiety already have the social skills they need. Treatment often focuses instead on the anxiety, self-monitoring, avoidance, and safety behaviours that make it difficult to use those skills naturally.
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Social anxiety treatment isn't based on guaranteeing that nobody will ever judge or dislike you. Part of treatment can involve becoming more able to tolerate the possibility of negative evaluation without organizing your behaviour around preventing it.
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Yes. Social anxiety can affect presentations, participating in class or meetings, asking questions, speaking with authority figures, interviews, networking, eating around others, and other situations where you feel observed or evaluated.
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Yes. Social anxiety treatment can be provided virtually, including exposure-based work. Ascend offers virtual therapy across Ontario as well as in-person therapy in Burlington.
How To Get Started
Finding the right support can start with a conversation.
Complete the form below and we'll be in touch to help you connect with a therapist who fits what you're looking for. You can also book a free 15-minute consultation if you'd like to speak with us first.
Email Us
info@ascendanxietyclinic.ca
Visit Us
3425 Harvester Road Unit 213, Burlington, ON, L7N 3M7, Canada