skills training

• a form of therapy in which clients learn specific abilities to help them cope with high risk situations
• skills training can be used as a part of CBT but doesnt have to be

  can be used alone as it isnt assumed that the client has irrational beliefs

  the clients self efficacy will increase as they practice skills

  coping in a high risk situation is NOT down to luck or chance but the result of their own actions - internal loc
• assertiveness training - helps a client to cope with conflicts in a controlled and rational way - minimises the chances they will turn to addiction to relieve negative feelings associated with conflicts
• anger management - training can help a client to express emotions more constructively - channel aggression into a creative activity
• social skills training - develop skills to help them cope with anxiety in social situations - focuses on improving both verbal and non verbal communication skills such as tone of voice and appropriate eye contact
• skills training techniques include:

  1. group discussion
  2. modelling and role play
  3. homework
  4. visualisation
• group discussion - takes place in small groups - share experiences and ideas and discusses what works and what doesnt

  discussion might identify high risk situations to be explored in further training and sessions
• modelling and role play - therapist demonstrates a skill to the group in which they try to imitate the skill in role play

  could be recorded for playback at a later date which the group will discuss.

  clients get feedback from the group and the therapist looking for areas for improvement

  the therapy positively reinforces the clients behaviour with praise and encouragement
• homework - tasks are set so the client practices their developing skills in the real world - carefully planned so the tasks are achievable and so that the clients works up to more challenging tasks over time
• visualisation - the client imagines situations in which they have to be assertive - mentally work through the steps involved in the situation before they role play it - helps them to feel more prepared in real life situations
• eval -- very demanding for clients - hard to stick to it as requires lot of effort and commitment - might drop out because of it - hard to know exactly how effective it is if there is a higher attrition rate
• eval -- skills training lacks a cognitive element - assumes that the underlying cause of addiction does not need to be addressed e.g irrational thoughts and cognitive distortions
• eval + long term benefits were found as the improvements were maintained after 12 months - due to training being future focused
• eval + TONEATTO allocated problem gamblers to one of 4 treatments and found that people in all of the groups gambled less and spent less money - practical applications - can help to prevent addictions