Optimizing Exposure Therapy Via Reward-focused Interventions in Individuals with Public Speaking Anxiety

"Participants complete three interventions based on the Positive Affect Treatment:~* Finding the silver lining includes attending to and appreciating positive aspects of past events~* Taking ownership includes identifying the personal behavioral contribution to rewarding past experiences~* Imagining the positive includes training the prospective, positive imagination of future events~Participants are asked to practice these interventions at least three times a week (approx. 15 mins each) until the next training session."

"This training aims to promote cognitive flexibility in the context of public speaking situations. The intervention is based on the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders.~Participants will be trained to identify and modify non-adaptive thoughts occurring in the context of public speaking situations."

"All participants undergo an exposure training session lasting approximately 90 minutes, which includes three exposure trial where participants give a speech, each lasting 5 minutes.~Exposure exercises are enriched with interventions of the respective treatment group (either reward-focused or cognitive flexibility interventions)."

All participants received information on anxiety, and the maintenance of anxiety as well as a rationale for the exposure session.