Catastrophic imagery in social anxiety

If you suffer from social anxiety, you are often afraid when you are together with other people or when you do something in front of other people. It seems like you have catastrophic images in your head of what could happen. However, we do not know much yet about these catastrophic images. Therefore, in this study, we want to examine what kind of images children and adolescents with social anxiety experience when they are afraid.
In addition, we also want to examine whether a short treatment can help children and adolescents to experience less aversive catastrophic images, and thereby to become less afraid. The treatment in this study is called ‘EMDR flashforward’. EMDR is already used to treat people who experience aversive memories, but now we use it with aversive catastrophic images. ‘EMDR flashforward’ is often used as part of treatment for people with anxiety, but it has not yet been evaluated separately. 

As a first step in this study, together with the child we map social situations that he or she fears. Then, we ask children and their parents to fill out questionnaires at three subsequent time points. These questionnaires consider anxiety, amongst other things. In addition, at the three time points, children are interviewed on their (catastrophic) imagery. 
The short treatment that the children receive consists of three sessions of ‘EMDR flashforward’ with a research therapist. The ‘EMDR flashforward’ treatment targets the catastrophic images (images of potential catastrophe, such as being laughed at or looking odd). The treatment aims to make the catastrophic images that the children may experience in social situations less aversive, and thereby to become less afraid and more ready to enter the social situation. Participating children receive a small compensation.