Most anxiety disorders respond well to two types of treatment: medication and psychotherapy. These treatments are prescribed alone or in combination. Although not cures, both treatments are effective in relieving the symptoms of anxiety disorders, thus enabling individuals to pursue more healthy lives. The psychotherapy method is called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and the objective of this therapy is to teach people with social anxiety disorder to react differently to the situations that trigger their anxiety symptoms, through counseling and talking to them.

Behavioral therapy usually aims to change a persons responses through various ways including relaxation techniques, such as breathing from the diaphragm, and through gradual exposure to what the patient finds frightening. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, similar to behavioral therapy, helps patients understand and accept their thought processes and resultant symptoms, so that they can choose to react differently to situations that cause their anxiety disorder.

The counselor usually tries to make the patient confront his negative feelings about social situations and the fear about being judged by others. The objective is to try and change the pattern of thinking to alter behavior. Along with this, certain techniques are used, like slow exposure to anxiety-provoking situations so that the patient develops enough confidence to deal effectively with such situations. In some situations, the counselor may feel the need to teach social skills to the patient, where hypothetical social situations may be created and the patient is shown how to confront that particular situation through role-play. Another effective way to overcome social anxiety is to maintain a personal diary to record such real-life situations and the patients own personal responses. This helps greatly to view the situation in an impersonal and objective manner, so that the person can correct his behavior in the future.