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Episode #69 - Social Anxiety in Context: A Culturally Responsive CBT Lens with Dr. Janeé Steele

Earn Continuing Education Credits (CEs): By listening to this episode, you can earn CEs if you join the Affirm Academy! To learn more and register, visit affirmmentalhealth.com, and click on the "Join the Affirm Academy" button.

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Episode Summary: In this episode of The Affirming Minds Podcast, Dr. Janeé M. Steele joins the conversation to explore social anxiety through a culturally responsive CBT lens. The discussion examines the core mechanisms that maintain social anxiety — including anticipatory processing, safety behaviors, and post-event rumination — and how these patterns intersect with lived experience, systemic bias, and stereotype threat.

Dr. Steele outlines practical strategies for differentiating between irrational fear and rational responses to discrimination, adapting exposure hierarchies with attention to real-world risk, using broaching to explore identity within the therapeutic relationship, and integrating micro-interventions and self-affirmation into clinical practice.

This episode offers clinicians concrete tools for delivering evidence-based treatment while honoring the broader social and cultural context in which anxiety develops and is maintained.

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About Our Guest: Janeé M. Steele, Ph.D. is a licensed professional counselor, counselor educator, and diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. Dr. Steele is also the owner of Kalamazoo Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy, PLLC, where she provides therapy, supervision, and training in cognitive behavior therapy. Her research focuses on counselor training, social justice, and culturally responsive approaches to therapy. She is the author of the book Racism and African American Mental Health: Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Empower Healing, and has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Counselor Education and Supervision, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, Journal for Specialists in Group Work, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, and Counselling Psychology Quarterly. Her insights have also been featured in media outlets such as Vogue, Psychiatric Times, Psychology Today, and Counseling Today. She frequently presents at state, national, and international counseling conferences and serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. She is an active member of the counseling profession and has served on the executive committee of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, the board of the National Social Anxiety Center, the webinar committee of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and the research and knowledge committee of the American Counseling Association.

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Connect with Dr. Steele:

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Conflict of Interest Disclosures:

The host, Shaina Siber-Sanderowitz, LCSW, is the Founder of Affirm Mental Health, an accredited CE provider. She receives financial compensation from Affirm Mental Health for the development and delivery of continuing education content. No other financial conflicts of interest were reported.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for clinical training or treatment. If you or someone you know needs mental health support, please reach out to a licensed professional.

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