Assertive defence of the self
Research type
Research Study
Full title
'Assertive defence of the self': assertive role-play for external shame in social anxiety.
IRAS ID
347823
Contact name
Shannan Salt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Univeristy of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
Social anxiety (SA) is a common mental health problem that impacts how people feel and behave in social situations. People may feel scared to talk in large groups of people, in public or to strangers, as they fear they may be negatively judged. People with SA can also be self-critical. These difficult emotions and negative thoughts often get in the way of people living the life they want to. For example, not feeling able to socialise with friends.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be helpful for people struggling with SA. CBT techniques can help people challenge their negative thoughts, but some of the most helpful methods involve trying new behaviours to change how people feel. One method is role-play (sometimes called chair-work) where people can practice new ways of coping and behaving in a safe setting.
A particular role-play exercise is called ‘assertive defence of the self’. It was created for people with social anxiety to help them answer back the criticism they fear from others. This can help people feel stronger and more able to cope with the ‘worst scenario’. Whilst this method is often used in therapy, it remains under-researched.
In this study individuals having therapy for social anxiety in NHS talking therapies services will be invited to role-play with their therapist in one of their usual sessions as part of their routine treatment. The role-play involves the therapist pretending to be a critical person, to give the individual a chance to defend themselves. After the role-play the individual will have a 20-40 minute chat about their experiences of the exercise with the researcher, to find out what helped and what they have learnt. The aim of the study is to help understand the exercise better and help therapists improve how they deliver it in the future.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EM/0035
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion