Cognitive behavior therapy  appears to be more effective than other evidence -based psychological techniques , and its effects appear to be more enduring than those of pharmacotherapy .
There is some evidence , albeit limited to certain drug classes , that the combination of  medication and cognitive behavior therapy may be more effective than either strategy used alone .
This article proposes a number of recommendations for the treatment of  generalized social phobia  , based on a systematic literature review and meta- analysis .
For medications , selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and dual serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are first-line choices based on their efficacy and tolerability profiles .
There are other medication classes with demonstrated efficacy in social phobia ( benzodiazepines , antipsychotics , alpha-2-delta lig and s ) , but due to limited published clinical trial data and the potential for dependence and withdrawal issues with benzodiazepines , it is unclear how best to incorporate these drugs into treatment regimens .
A pilot study of clonazepam versus psychodynamic group therapy plus clonazepam in the treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder.
BACKGROUND Both psychodynamic group therapy ( PGT ) and clonazepam are used as treatment strategies in reducing symptoms of generalized social anxiety disorder ( GSAD ) . However , many individuals remain symptomatic after treatment with PGT or clonazepam . METHOD Fifty-eight adult out patients with a diagnosis of GSAD according to DSM-IV were r and omized to 12 weeks PGT plus clonazepam or clonazepam . The Clinical Global Impression-Improvement ( CGI-I ) Scale was the primary efficacy measure . Secondary efficacy measures included the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale ( LSAS ) total score , the World Health Organization Instrument to Assess Quality of Life-Brief ( WHOQOL-Bref ) Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) . RESULTS CGI-I data from 57 patients ( intent-to-treat population ) showed that patients who received PGT plus clonazepam presented significantly greater improvement than those who received clonazepam ( P=0.033 ) . There were no significant differences between the two groups in the secondary efficacy measures . CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the combination of PGT with clonazepam may be a promising strategy for the treatment of GSAD , regarding gains in the global functioning . However the present study failed to detect more specific changes in social anxiety symptomatology between the two groups
Cognitive behavior therapy  appears to be more effective than other evidence -based psychological techniques , and its effects appear to be more enduring than those of pharmacotherapy .
There is some evidence , albeit limited to certain drug classes , that the combination of  medication and cognitive behavior therapy may be more effective than either strategy used alone .
This article proposes a number of recommendations for the treatment of  generalized social phobia  , based on a systematic literature review and meta- analysis .
For medications , selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and dual serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are first-line choices based on their efficacy and tolerability profiles .
There are other medication classes with demonstrated efficacy in social phobia ( benzodiazepines , antipsychotics , alpha-2-delta lig and s ) , but due to limited published clinical trial data and the potential for dependence and withdrawal issues with benzodiazepines , it is unclear how best to incorporate these drugs into treatment regimens .