Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. vanamer@mcmaster.ca
Since the emergence of social phobia into the diagnostic nomenclature, we have seen an exponential expansion in our knowledge regarding effective treatment of this disorder. The literature clearly supports the use of SSRIs and the SNRI venlafaxine ER as first line pharmacological agents in the treatment of GSAD. In this article, treatment studies of pharmacotherapy of social phobia are summarized. Additional issues such as comparative efficacy, treatment resistance and relapse-prevention are reviewed.