The condition
What does social anxiety actually look like?
Social anxiety disorder is a persistent fear of being judged or negatively evaluated in social settings, intense enough to disrupt daily life. Per NIMH prevalence data, the condition affects an estimated 7% of U.S. adults in any given year. Look for this 3-part cycle: dreading an event, replaying the conversation afterward, then avoiding the next situation entirely.
Common triggers include public speaking, eating in front of others, dating, meeting new people, and phone calls. Physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, shaking, or a racing heart can make situations feel worse. The fear of drawing attention is itself part of the cycle.
Social anxiety is not introversion. Introverts prefer fewer social interactions but engage without significant distress. Social anxiety involves intense fear of negative evaluation that interferes with work, relationships, or daily life. It is one focus within our broader anxiety therapy work.
How it works
How does therapy for social anxiety work at our Cerritos practice?
We use CBT, psychodynamic therapy, and solution-focused therapy for social anxiety. Based on the 3 modalities our team uses, each one addresses a different layer: thought patterns, the roots of the fear, and practical coping skills. Start with the first call and your clinician builds the plan.
The first call goes to 562-860-2891, where we verify your insurance, confirm current availability, and match you with a clinician who focuses on social anxiety and anxious presentations. In your first session, your clinician learns what social situations are hardest for you, what you have already tried, and what you want to be able to do, and a treatment plan takes shape from that conversation.
From there, weekly sessions, not biweekly, not monthly. CBT-based gradual re-engagement with feared situations, psychodynamic exploration, and practical coping skills all compound week to week. Treatment length is based on your medical necessity, not on a session quota. You decide when you are done, together with your clinician.
A practical on-ramp
Why does starting on video make sense for social anxiety?
Telehealth is a practical on-ramp for this specific condition. In our experience, 1 pattern comes up often: the office visit itself is a feared situation. Video removes that barrier. Start on video, then move to in-person at the Cerritos office when you are ready.
When you come in, our Cerritos office is at 17215 Studebaker Rd., Suite #110, Cerritos, CA 90703. It sits at the 91 and 605 freeway junction, on the LA County and Orange County border. Same therapist either way.
Telehealth therapy for social anxiety is available across California wherever your insurance contracts allow, including Anthem Medi-Cal and Blue Shield Promise Medi-Cal statewide. Call to confirm telehealth eligibility for your specific plan.
What it helps with
Which approaches do you use for social anxiety?
Social anxiety rarely travels alone. A multi-condition outpatient practice handles the whole picture with the same clinician, on the same insurance, without fragmenting your care. Here is how our approaches fit together.
CBT for feared situations
CBT has the strongest evidence base for social anxiety disorder. It addresses thought patterns and supports gradual re-engagement with the situations you have been avoiding, so momentum builds week to week.
Psychodynamic exploration
Psychodynamic work explores where the fear of judgment originates. Understanding the roots of the pattern often loosens its grip on your work, relationships, and daily life.
Solution-focused coping skills
Solution-focused therapy builds on what is already working and gives you practical coping skills for public speaking, dating, phone calls, and meeting new people.
Co-occurring depression
Social anxiety often shows up alongside low mood. Our team is trained in depression, so depression therapy can run alongside social anxiety work with the same clinician.
Trauma-related fear and EMDR
For clients whose presenting concern involves past experiences, EMDR therapy can be one of the approaches used, drawing on the practice's trauma therapy training.
Teens with social anxiety
Young people carry social anxiety too. If you are searching for a teenager, teen therapy gives adolescents a non-judgmental setting to work through fear of evaluation.
Language and culture
Can culture and language shape social anxiety treatment?
Social anxiety presentation is shaped by culture, and it does not translate cleanly through an interpreter. Fear of shaming the family or being seen as "too different" needs a therapist who understands it from the inside.
Our team delivers therapy in six languages beyond English: Spanish, Farsi, Tagalog, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi, spoken across our team at one outpatient practice. Confirm the specific language at intake. See our Medi-Cal therapy page for more on coverage, or our individual therapy page for the one-on-one format most social anxiety clients start with.
Coverage
What insurance is accepted for social anxiety therapy?
We accept the following plans for social anxiety therapy. Whether your specific plan covers this depends on your plan details and medical necessity; we verify before your first session.
- Medi-Cal (including Anthem Medi-Cal and Blue Shield Promise Medi-Cal, accepted statewide)
- LA Care (LA County)
- Molina (LA County)
- Cigna (statewide)
- Aetna (statewide)
In their words
What did a client say about working with us?
A note from someone we worked with at our Cerritos office.
"This therapist has saved my life. Makes you feel great when you walk out of his office. Saqui will also give you tools to continue your treatment on your own time. Highly recommend him for people all ages."
Javier M.
Google Review, 5 stars, Cerritos, CA
Individual results vary; this reflects one client's experience and is not a promise of outcome.
Eye Cue Mental Health has been open in Cerritos since November 2017. We accept Medi-Cal and serve adults, teens, young adults, and families across LA County, Orange County, and statewide California by telehealth. Our team of associate clinicians is supervised by Saqib Iqbal, LCSW.
Good questions
Frequently asked questions about social anxiety therapy
Still unsure? Call 562-860-2891 and we will talk it through, no commitment.
No. Introverts prefer fewer social interactions but engage without significant distress. The difference is fear of negative evaluation that disrupts daily life, not a preference for less socializing. If fear of judgment is driving your isolation, it is worth talking to a therapist.
CBT has the strongest evidence base for social anxiety disorder. At our practice, we combine CBT with psychodynamic therapy and solution-focused therapy. CBT addresses thought patterns and gradual re-engagement with feared situations. Psychodynamic work explores where the fear originates. Solution-focused work builds on what is already working. Your treatment plan is set collaboratively with your clinician.
That is a common feeling, and the first call does not commit you to anything. Call 562-860-2891, we ask about your insurance and tell you current availability. The first session is typically by video, so you do not have to navigate an unfamiliar office on day one. We work with people at the point they are actually at.
We accept Medi-Cal, Cigna, Aetna, LA Care, and Molina for social anxiety therapy. Whether your specific plan covers this depends on your plan details and medical necessity, which we verify before your first session. Call 562-860-2891 and we will check your plan on the call. Most clients know their coverage status before the first appointment.
Eye Cue Mental Health is a psychotherapy practice. We do not prescribe medication or offer psychiatric evaluations. Some clients pair therapy with medication managed by their PCP or a psychiatrist. We focus on the therapy side and refer out when a medication evaluation seems appropriate.
Most social anxiety treatment plans run a few months at weekly cadence. The actual length depends on what you are working on and how things progress. Weekly sessions matter here because gradual re-engagement with feared situations builds momentum that breaks between longer gaps. Your clinician sets the timeline based on clinical need, not on a session cap.
Get started
Ready to start social anxiety therapy in Cerritos?
Eye Cue Mental Health is at 17215 Studebaker Rd., Suite #110, Cerritos, CA 90703. We are open 7 days a week, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Call 562-860-2891 to check availability and verify your insurance. Telehealth is available across California on plans that cover it. See our full anxiety therapy service for the broader scope.
- 562-860-2891
- 17215 Studebaker Rd., Suite #110, Cerritos, CA 90703
- Open 7 days a week, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
If you are in crisis right now or having thoughts of self-harm, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline any time. Eye Cue Mental Health is an outpatient practice, not a crisis center.
