Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy designed for social anxiety disorder: A grant-writing project

The purpose of this project was to locate a potential funding source and write a grant to develop an online-administered cognitive behavioral therapy program to treat social anxiety disorder. The chosen funding source was the National Institute of Mental Health. The actual submission for funding of the grant was not a requirement for successful project completion. Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental illnesses and one of the most undertreated. Many of those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder develop more severe symptoms over time due to lack of treatment and become more debilitated. These individuals may fear leaving the home or interacting with others due to symptoms of the disorder. To assure that these more chronic, severe cases of social anxiety receive treatment, an online-administered cognitive behavioral therapy program is needed to provide initial treatment with the goal of transitioning to face-to-face treatment.