Pharmacotherapy for Social Anxiety Disorder and Specific Phobia

This chapter examines how, over the past two decades, there has been a rapid emergence of pharmacological treatment options for patients with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD). Results of treatment and neuroimaging studies suggest the involvement of serotonin, gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA)/glutamate, and dopamine in GSAD. The literature clearly supports the use of SSRIs and the SNRI venlafaxine ER as first-line pharmacological agents …