The role of drug therapy in social phobia.

Social phobia is a potentially disabling condition requiring effective and well tolerated treatment. The monoamine oxidase inhibitors, benzodiazepines and, more recently, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have all shown promise as treatments for this disorder. Paroxetine, the most thoroughly studied SSRI, has been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of generalized social phobia in a large-scale, placebo-controlled trial. Paroxetine and the other SSRIs show promise as a new and safe therapeutic choice for patients with social phobia.