Social Anxiety Counselling in Elsternwick

Social anxiety can be easy to dismiss from the outside. People may call it shyness, awkwardness, introversion or “just nerves”. But when you’re the one experiencing it, social anxiety can feel far more consuming than that. It can affect how you speak, work, date, build friendships, attend events, answer questions, take phone calls or simply walk into a room where other people are already gathered.

At Your Psychologist in Elsternwick, Franco Greco provides social anxiety counselling for people who feel trapped by fear of judgement, criticism, embarrassment or rejection. Social anxiety isn’t a character flaw, and it isn’t something you need to force yourself through alone. It’s often a deeply patterned response that develops over time, particularly when earlier experiences have taught you that being seen, heard or evaluated feels unsafe.

Understanding Social Anxiety

Social anxiety often involves a strong fear of being scrutinised by others. You might worry about saying the wrong thing, blushing, shaking, sounding nervous, being disliked, appearing incompetent or being quietly judged. For some people, this shows up in specific situations, such as public speaking or meeting new people. For others, it can affect almost every social interaction.

Common signs of social anxiety can include:

• Avoiding social events, meetings or group settings
• Replaying conversations afterwards and criticising what you said
• Feeling tense, self-conscious or physically anxious around others
• Struggling to speak up, make eye contact or express an opinion
• Worrying for days before a social situation
• Using alcohol, over-preparation or avoidance to cope
• Feeling lonely, even when you want connection

The painful part is that avoidance often brings short-term relief, but it can also make the fear stronger over time. The more life narrows around anxiety, the harder it can feel to step back into connection.

How Social Anxiety Therapy Can Help

Social anxiety therapy at our Elsternwick clinic focuses on more than simply “pushing yourself” into uncomfortable situations. While practical strategies can be helpful, lasting change often means understanding why your nervous system reacts so strongly in the first place.

Franco’s approach draws on evidence-based therapy, including Schema Therapy, to explore the deeper patterns that may sit underneath social anxiety. These may include beliefs such as “I’ll be rejected”, “I’m not good enough”, “people will notice something wrong with me”, or “I have to perform perfectly to be accepted”. These beliefs can become so familiar that they feel like facts, even when they’re really old protective strategies.

Through social anxiety treatment in Elsternwick, therapy may help you:

• Identify the situations and thoughts that trigger anxiety
• Understand the early experiences that shaped your fears
• Reduce avoidance and build confidence gradually
• Challenge harsh self-criticism and post-event rumination
• Develop more grounded ways of relating to yourself and others
• Learn practical tools for managing physical anxiety symptoms

Work with a social anxiety psychologist in Elsternwick

If social anxiety is affecting your relationships, career, confidence or quality of life, support is available. Working with a social anxiety psychologist in Elsternwick can help you better understand what’s happening beneath the surface, rather than continuing to blame yourself for feeling anxious.

At Your Psychologist, therapy is tailored, respectful and paced carefully. The aim isn’t to turn you into someone you’re not; it’s to help you feel safer being yourself, less controlled by fear, and more able to take part in the life you actually want. To learn more about social anxiety counselling in Elsternwick or to book an appointment with Franco Greco, please contact Your Psychologist today.