Therapists Help their Clients Cope with Social Anxiety, Job Insecurity

BY REBEKAH MOAN

Therapists in Potrero Hill and Dogpatch are helping their clients cope with a new set of issues after a rocky few years of COVID. In addition to perennial problems of holiday stress, depression, and generalized anxiety, patients are nervous about social situations and worried that they’ll be laid off, given downsizing in the tech industry and what appears to be an emerging regional economic recession.

“Re-entering the social flow after being so much more isolated is making people more socially anxious than previously,” said Deborah Whiting, MSW, who has been in practice for more than 40 years, 30 on Arkansas Street.

A characteristic feature of social anxiety is avoiding social gatherings, with worries about communal interac- tions complicating work, relationships, and quality of life.

Lisa Andresen, LCSW, a therapist for high-achievers and entrepreneurs with offices on Third Street, confirmed that many of her clients are seeking therapy to manage social anxiety.

“During COVID, sheltering-in-place at home wasn’t considered avoidance,” she said. “Now, people are re-emerging and some are finding it harder than others to put themselves back out there. That disconnect between wanting to connect with others and dreading it is starting to come front and center for people to the point that they’re seeking therapy to address it.”

Clients don’t necessarily state, “I’m socially anxious,” but they might describe feeling lonely, having trouble making friends, or that they don’t have a lot going on outside of work, she added.

“As we unpack it, they know all the things they need to do, but they find it hard to take action,” she said. “They say they want to hang out with friends but wonder why they spend a week preparing for it and then watch for the exit when they arrive.”

Anne Diedrich, MFT, a licensed therapist since 1995, who relocated her offices to Third Street in 2018, has noticed similar patterns. Diedrich works with children and adults, primarily new parents and those in their 20s and 30s concerned about finding and keeping partners and raising families.

“I’m noticing social anxiety cropping up in adults but it’s really apparent in kids,” she said. “I work with elementaryage kids, and teens as well, but with the younger kids, so much growth occurs in