Contextual schema therapy for social anxiety and depression symptoms—A two sessions, online, group randomized trial

Social anxiety and depression symptoms are highly prevalent and frequently comorbid, pointing to common etiological factors, like self-criticism and experiential avoidance.Objective In the current randomized control trial, we tested the efficacy of a transdiagnostic, two-session Contextual Schema Therapy intervention, delivered in an online group format, for individuals with social anxiety and/or depressive symptoms and examined self-criticism and experiential avoidance as potential mediators.Method The sample included 134 participants scoring above the 30 Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale cut-off point and/or above 14 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II, who were randomized to either the contextual schema therapy group intervention or an online psychoeducation control group.Results Significant reductions in social anxiety (p = 0.038, d = 0.35 at post-intervention) and depression (p = 0.015, d = 0.41 at post-intervention) and an increase in quality of life (p = 0.033, d = 0.36 at follow-up) were found in the contextual schema therapy group compared to the control group (in the absence of clustering effects), while no significant differences were found for self-criticism and experiential avoidance, the proposed mediators.Conclusions The results support the efficacy of this brief contextual schema intervention format, while its mechanisms of change remain to be investigated further.