Brief Background of Bonnie LaRue
Bonnie LaRue was a 15-year-old Caucasian girl in the 9th grade and was the eldest child in
the family. In her family, there was no history of anxiety problems. She felt nervous about
everything, especially things at school and doing anything new. In most of the social
situations, Bonnie felt extremely anxious and fearful about what others might think of her
in terms of her physical appearance. As such, she tried to avoid such situations as eating in
public, using restrooms, being in crowded places, meeting new people, speaking up in
class, writing on the blackboard, and talking to acquaintances as well as strangers. In
addition, Bonnie would never even answer the telephone at home and very hesitant to use
the phone for making calls. She worried that she might say the wrong thing or not knowing
what to say or do, which might lead others to think badly of her. With the intense fear of
these situations, Bonnie often experienced a full-blown panic attack during, or in
anticipation of, difficult situations. The symptoms of a panic attack were accelerated heart
rate, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, hot flashes, sweating, trembling, dizziness,
difficulty swallowing, headaches, and stomachaches.
Despite Bonnie had anxiety, she had a number of close friends, who were also enormously
shy and had the same concerns as her, to which she would spend time with. Furthermore,
she would still insist go to school even though she had stomachaches before school.
However, Bonnie’s anxiety increased dramatically in a year due to entering high school, a
breakup with her boyfriend, and the introduction of social media. In this period of time,
she felt depressed, fatigued, loss concentration, and worthless after the broke up. Recently,
she was beginning to return to her normal mood as she had a new boyfriend, who was also
as shy as she was.
Brief Summary of Behaviour Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
There are two theories seem more applicable and appropriate to this case study, which is
behaviour therapy (BT) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Behaviour therapy
includes the principles of learning theory, on which dealing with the present behaviour
which is the result of faulty learning (Corey, 2009). This therapy focuses on overt
behaviour, precision in specifying treatment goals, development of specific treatment
plans, and evaluation of therapy outcomes (Corey, 2009). On the other hand, cognitive
behaviour therapy emphasises on the replacement of effective thinking with the current
