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Social skills training and psychotherapy: a comparative study1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Michael Argyle*
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University and Littlemore Hospital, Oxford
Bridget Bryant
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University and Littlemore Hospital, Oxford
Peter Trower
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University and Littlemore Hospital, Oxford
*
2Address for correspondence: Michael Argyle, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, South Parks Road, Oxford.

Sysnopsis

A comparison is made between two forms of treatment for patients with interpersonal difficulties—one, an established treatment in the form of brief psychotherapy, and the other, social skills training, a form of behaviour modification designed to provide or improve the social skills necessary for successful social interaction. In a pilot study using social skills training, six out of seven patients showed marked clinical and social improvement. In the controlled trial, there was evidence that both types of treatment improved behaviour, but that social skills training tended to maintain its effect for longer, even though psychotherapy patients had more than twice the number of therapy hours.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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Footnotes

1

This work was financed by a grant from the Oxford Regional Hospital Board.

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