Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables, boxes, figures and case examples
- Foreword
- Preface
- Structure of the book
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Assessment
- 3 Rules of reinforcement and practical examples
- 4 Social skills training
- 5 Relationship, communication and sexual skills training
- 6 Phobic and social anxiety
- 7 Treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorders
- 8 Depression
- 9 Generalised anxiety disorder and panic
- 10 Body dysmorphic disorder and the somatic symptom and related disorders
- 11 Eating disorders
- 12 Addictive behaviour
- 13 Schizophrenia and the psychoses
- 14 Personality disorder
- 15 CBT in combination with other therapy
- Glossary
- Index
4 - Social skills training
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2018
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables, boxes, figures and case examples
- Foreword
- Preface
- Structure of the book
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Assessment
- 3 Rules of reinforcement and practical examples
- 4 Social skills training
- 5 Relationship, communication and sexual skills training
- 6 Phobic and social anxiety
- 7 Treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorders
- 8 Depression
- 9 Generalised anxiety disorder and panic
- 10 Body dysmorphic disorder and the somatic symptom and related disorders
- 11 Eating disorders
- 12 Addictive behaviour
- 13 Schizophrenia and the psychoses
- 14 Personality disorder
- 15 CBT in combination with other therapy
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
Overview
The principles of coaching and reinforcement will be discussed along with case examples of the application of reinforcement, coaching skills and graded exposure for social skills and assertiveness deficits. Clinical examples demonstrating the distinction and overlap between social anxiety disorder and poor social skills will be described. Anger and poor impulse control will be examined, as will comorbidity and overlap with other treatments.
A lack of social skills may be present from childhood or only become apparent later in life. Social skills deficit may arise in response to a mental health problem such as schizophrenia or may lead to psychiatric problems in their own right. Indeed, many people may have poor social skills, which interferes with their ability to sustain relationships, succeed in the workplace and live fulfilling lives. Failure in these domains can result in psychological distress and mental health problems. Situations and conditions that can result in impaired social skills include:
• lack of general social skills
• social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
• social skills not developed (e.g. owing to being brought up in a different culture and lack of understanding of the social norms in the new culture)
• secondary to a developmental disorder (e.g. Asperger syndrome or autism spectrum disorder)
• secondary to severe, enduring mental illness and subsequent withdrawal and negative symptoms (e.g. secondary to schizophrenia)
• lack of assertiveness
• this can lead to a build up of resentment and eventually may result in psychiatric difficulties such as depression
• lack of impulse control
• can be comorbid with other psychiatric disorders (e.g. alcohol or drug misuse, personality disorder)
• can be a standalone condition and part of a generally impulsive personality.
Michel Hersen was one of the most powerful figures in the development of social skills and assertiveness training in the 1970s and 1980s. Although much of this work is now forgotten, many of the skills developed from this time are used in a variety of clinical and non-clinical settings (Miller, 2012; Thase, 2012). Social skills training techniques are part of packages used to treat patients with psychotic illnesses and depression (Bellack, 2004). They are also now widely used in the fields of autism and Asperger syndrome (Patrick, 2008; Weiss et al, 2013; Chang et al, 2014).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- CBT for AdultsA Practical Guide for Clinicians, pp. 43 - 52Publisher: Royal College of PsychiatristsPrint publication year: 2014