Treating a Fear of Giving Classroom Presentations
Using Different Therapy Approaches
(note: the pronoun “she” is used in the following case study. It could just as easily have been “he.”)
Anxiety before having to give a presentation in class is very common among
students. For some, however, it is more than just normal anxiety. Imagine a student so
anxious about giving class presentations that she usually does not even sign up for
classes in which such presentations are required. If she absolutely cannot avoid giving
a class presentation, she gets so nervous the night before that she vomits and sleeps
poorly, often calling in sick the day of the presentation so that she can avoid the stress
of public speaking. At times she has refused to give a presentation, claiming that she
forgot her materials, or that she had a sore throat and couldn't talk. While she is a very
good student in all her classes, this problem has caused her to get less than satisfactory
grades in those classes that require a presentation. The student realizes that she has a
problem and has come to you for professional help.
Refer to Chs. 2 & 3 in your Meyer text to answer:
Using one or more of the following perspectives -- psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral,
humanistic, biological -- answer the two questions.
1. Explanation of Problem: (What do you see as a probable cause of this problem?)
2. Treatment of Problem: (What methods and techniques would you use – given your
theoretical approach – to treat this problem?)