PROVEN PROCESS + PEER SUPPORT

Overcome Social Anxiety

We combine a proven process with the power of peer support. Free, for as long as you need it and with no wait times.

Learn more

Social anxiety is unhelpful

We’re social creatures. Lacking social connection is as dangerous to health as smoking 15 cigarettes daily †

But what if your mind sabotaged social connection, mirroring the addiction that keeps smokers trapped?

† Source: US Department for Health and Human Services

It makes our lives small

Fear and avoidance can lead to isolation, missed opportunities, career limitations and impaired relationships.

The antidote is simple in theory, hard in practice

To gradually stop avoiding the situations that invoke fear and learn that they’re not as bad as you think. 

Simple in theory, but hard in practice. Like how smokers know they ‘just’ need to stop smoking. 

We discovered a way to make it easier

We wondered what would happen if you bring a group of socially anxious people together to…socialise? A lot, we discovered. 

We combine a proven process with peer support

Groups meet weekly to help people practice in a safe space, celebrate wins and moments of struggle, and to give one another the confidence to face their fears in the ‘real world’. 

Free, for as long as you need it and with no long wait times.

How it works

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1. Find a group

Groups meet online. You’ll be part of a social group of 10-12 peers who’ll you get to know over weeks. 

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2. First meeting

Showing up is the first step to break the cycle of avoidance. Your first meeting is an induction.

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3. Keep going

Use your group for motivation, practice sessions to try in a safe space, and our self-guided content to break the cycle of avoidance – one step at a time.

How it works

Join a friendly and supportive community

1,626

Members joined

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Average rating 4.8/5

186

Reviews

 “The best thing I do for anxiety.”

“I felt empowered after speaking today.”

“In many respects it’s more beneficial than the therapy”

“I felt like I’d accomplished something.”

Early indications show 90% report an improvement after ≥ 3 meetings

We routinely ask members to complete an anonymised survey called ‘Social Phobia Index’ – a standard clinical measure of social anxiety.

It’s very early days and not as robust as we’d one day like it to be, but we’ve collected 160 responses.

Members typically join us as “Severe” on the clinical index and are currently at “Moderate”.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is WalkTheTalk free?

As it’s peer-led, there are very few operating costs. Our members ‘graduating’ WalkTheTalk often choose to give back to help others. Facilitating sessions is a social anxiety challenge.

What is the ‘process’ behind WalkTheTalk?

We follow Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder (CT-SAD) as closely as possible. This is the gold standard treatment developed by the team at OxCADAT (Oxford Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma) and what would be ‘prescribed’ on the NHS. While we follow it as closely as possible we deviate in some areas that are tricky to replicate outside of a 1-1 therapy environment and we enrich it in other areas, such as the emphasis on continual behavioural experiments or ‘challenges’ and the peer support group you’ll get.

Learn more about what to expect.

What evidence is there that it helps people overcome social anxiety?

The process we follow is modelled on and adapted from the gold standard treatment used for Social Anxiety Disorder. This is shown to be highly effective in treating social anxiety. However, we’ve adapted the process as much as is possible in a group setting, it would be misleading to draw comparisons. We aspire to soon be able to report robust outcome measures of members and allow researchers to understand WalkTheTalk’s efficacy compared with 1-1 therapies. Early data suggests that it’s helpful (see above). Meanwhile, we encourage you to try WalkTheTalk alongside or after 1-1 therapy if needed.

What if I feel anxious about joining a group of strangers?

By nature, many of our members are nervous the first time they join or it takes multiple attempts and significant energy to muster to join. You’re not alone and it’s fine to feel that way and to go at your own pace. Many of us started that way. Our groups are safe spaces made up of people in the same position.

There’s no pressure to ‘do’ anything when you’re at your group. You don’t have to speak at first, you can just listen in, and if you join an online group, you can even start with your camera off.

As scary as it may seem the first time, there’s natural power to overcoming social anxiety with the help of a supportive and safe social group.

Our guide on what to expect at a group meeting might be helpful so there are no surprises.

Are groups online or in-person?

We aim to make WalkTheTalk accessible to everyone with social anxiety in the UK, by offering at least one group meeting in each local area each month. We know that in-person meetings are more effective than online meetings, but we realise that it will take time to establish in-person meetings everywhere. Therefore, we offer a mix of online and in-person meetings, with the number of in-person meetings increasing over time.

Find your group.