Review: CBT Worksheets for Teenage Social Anxiety by Dr. James Manning & Dr. Nicola Ridgeway

“CBT” or “cognitive-behavioral therapy” is an action-oriented psychological therapeutic approach that is commonly used in combating anxiety and depression, as well as its many other forms, by slowly working with the individual to learn better coping techniques and to overcome unhealthy or unproductive habits. It is considered highly effective in most cases and has since become one of the most standard and prescribed methods of coping with those issues.

This book is a guide and a set of worksheets that tackle the particular area of teenage social anxiety using this approach, and is one of a series produced by Dr. James Manning and Dr. Nicola Ridgeway. Both are accredited doctors of Clinical Psychology who are currently active in the field, each employed as therapists at the West Suffolk CBT Service, a practice in England. Their advice and resources can certainly be considered reliable due to their actionable and up-to-date experience, all of which is being used and tested every day.

Indeed, the book is easily up to typical standards of what a CBT workbook should entail with clear explanations, diagrams, and worksheets that are also explained for their purpose and use in an easy-to-understand manner that does not talk down to the reader. While similar to previous publications by Drs. Manning and Ridgeway, this book is tailored toward social anxiety in teenagers.

This doesn’t mean that it “dumbs down” the content or tries to create some sort of childish atmosphere in an attempt to accommodate the age bracket. Instead the authors understand that any teenager who is going to be picking this book up already has a sense of themselves, their issues, and some idea of direction of what constitutes progress for them personally – if not, they should be adept enough to pick it up from the book, or the person they’re working with. The introductions and elaborations that come at the beginning of the book, as well as anything newly broached by the book, make sure that readers will never be lost and always on the level of understanding required to progress.

As with the other literature in the series, it’s worth noting that this is a very specialized item of literature that is very much intended as an aid to a full, assisted course of treatment. There are certainly positive elements that can be drawn from the read on its own, even though this isn’t exactly the intended use, and the majority of the read is extremely approachable so long as you’re vaguely familiar with the very basics of psychology or therapy.

It’s a very accessible resource that does everything it needs to do in a succinct and adroit manner; gets straight to the point while still leading readers in a supportive and structured manner. CBT Worksheets for Teenage Social Anxiety is exactly what it says on the tin, and more, and will ensure a better lifestyle for any teenager who makes effective use of the read.

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