C2 Flashcards
Relaxation and breathing techniques to include biofeedback
What is Biofeedback?
Biofeedback uses technology to help people control automatic body functions like heart rate and muscle tension, reducing stress and helping them relax. Budzynski et al identified 3 main phases of biofeedback training.
Relaxation and breathing techniques to include biofeedback
Phase 1 - Awareness and Physiological feedback
In Phase 1 of biofeedback, a client is connected to machines that show or play signals of physiological activities, like heart rate or muscle tension, using visuals or sounds. A therapist explains these signals, helping the client understand their body’s responses.
Relaxation and breathing techniques to include biofeedback
Phase 2- Relaxation training and control
In Phase 2, clients use feedback and techniques like deep breathing and muscle relaxation to gain control. Gamified feedback and therapist praise reinforce success, encouraging improvement through positive reinforcement.
Relaxation and breathing techniques to include biofeedback
Phase 3 - Transfer
In Phase 3, clients practice transferring relaxation skills from therapy to real life using portable biofeedback devices or apps to manage stress on the go.
Talking therapies: counselling, guided self-help, CBT and SIT
Counselling
Counselling offers a safe, confidential space to discuss issues like stress or addiction with a trained professional. Instead of giving advice or prescribing medication, counsellors help you understand your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, enabling you to find your own solutions or coping strategies.
Talking therapies: counselling, guided self-help, CBT and SIT
Guided self-help
Guided self-help is a brief CBT-based therapy focused on helping individuals manage current issues like stress or addiction independently.
Talking therapies: counselling, guided self-help, CBT and SIT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on changing irrational thoughts and behaviors linked to addiction. It combines:
Cognitive restructuring: Challenging distorted thinking.
Behavior change: Learning new coping skills and avoiding high-risk situations.
Functional analysis: Identifying triggers with the therapist.
Relapse prevention: Developing techniques to prevent relapse.
Talking therapies: counselling, guided self-help, CBT and SIT
Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)
Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) is a CBT approach that helps individuals manage stress and build resilience against future stressors. SIT typically lasts 9–12 sessions over 2–3 months and includes follow-up sessions. It has three overlapping phases:
1. Cognitive preparation: Identifying and understanding stressors.
2. Skill acquisition: Learning coping skills.
3. Application and follow-through: Practicing skills in real-life situations and preparing for setbacks.
Social Support
Different forms of social support
Different forms of social support
Social networks consist of people we interact with, including family, friends, and colleagues, who can provide social support. The quality of support often matters more than the size of the network. Schaefer et al. (1981) identified three types of social support:
Instrumental support: Practical help, such as providing information, assistance, or resources.
Emotional support: Comfort through empathy, affection, and understanding to lift mood during stress.
Esteem support: Encouragement to boost confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, reducing stress.
Social Support
Social support benefits us by:
Social support benefits us by:
Buffering Hypothesis: Reducing stress impact during tough times by creating a psychological buffer.
Direct Effect Hypothesis: Enhancing health and well-being at all times by promoting relaxation and reducing arousal.
Social Support
Other issues
Other issues
* The 3 are not independent. There is overlap
* One doesn’t need to be physically present in order to prvide social support.
* defferent networks can provide different types of support.
skills training
Skills Training Basics
Skills training, part of CBT, builds self-efficacy by teaching life skills like assertiveness, anger management, and social skills, helping clients control their behavior
skills training
Assertiveness Training
Conflict in relationships often triggers relapse. Assertiveness training helps clients handle disagreements rationally and avoid manipulation, aggression, or avoidance, reducing the likelihood of turning to addictive behaviors for relief.
Skills training
Anger management
Anger Management
People with addiction often struggle to control emotions, with anxiety or threats triggering anger. Training helps clients manage and express emotions constructively, such as through creative outlets, addressing underlying causes like childhood trauma.
Skills training
Social Skills Training (SST)
Social Skills Training (SST)
SST helps clients manage anxiety in social situations by improving verbal and non-verbal communication, such as tone and eye contact. It addresses skills deficits linked to addiction and prepares clients for high-risk scenarios like parties or gambling cues.
Skills Training
Skills Training Techniques
Group Discussion: Clients in small groups share experiences, discuss strategies, and explore high-risk situations (e.g., refusing a drink calmly).
Modelling and Role-Play: Therapists demonstrate skills (like assertive eye contact), followed by client role-play. Sessions may be recorded for feedback, focusing on improvement and reinforcing successes with praise.
Homework: Clients practice skills in real-life scenarios, progressing from simple to challenging tasks, often documented in diaries for session feedback.
Visualization: Clients mentally rehearse assertive actions (e.g., declining a cigarette), preparing for real-life situations before role-playing them.
Physiological treatments
Alcohol
Alcohol
Aversives involve drugs called emetics like disulfiram (brand name Antabuse). The person takes the emetic and then is given an alcohol drink to hold/smell/drink and after around 5-10 minutes the emetic causes vomiting leading to the individual creating a new stimulus-response which makes them want to stop drinking.
Agonists attach to neuron receptors and activate them causing similar effects to drinking alcohol but are less harmful with the aim of reducing the dose over time.
Antagonists attach to neuron receptors and block them so drinking alcohol does not produce euphoric feelings that alcoholics crave so they stop drinking.
Physiological treatments
Nicotine
Nicotine
Nicotine replacement therapy is a medically approved way to treat people with tobacco use disorder by taking nicotine by means other than tobacco. It is used to help with quitting smoking or stopping chewing tobacco. It increases the chance of quitting tobacco smoking by about 55%. There are patches, gum, tablets and sprays which release nicotine into the bloodstream to combat withdrawal symptoms (e.g. cravings) without the harmful effects of cigarettes with the aim of reducing nicotine until the person no longer requires therapy.
Physiological treatments
Over the counter remedies for stress
Over the counter remedies for stress
Valerian, chamomile and lavender have all been found to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia and promote calmness.
Exercise
Exercise and stress relief
Exercise and stress relief
It pumps up your endorphins and makes you feel good.
It reduces the negative effects of stress by helping protect your body from harmful effects of stress (e.g. the cardiovascular system, the digestive system and the immune system)
It’s meditation in motion as it distracts from the day’s irritations and helps you focus on the present thus promoting optimism in the moment.
Exercise
Exercise for addiction recovery
Exercise for addiction recovery
Withdrawal symptoms: Exercise has been repeatedly found to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. As these are major symptoms of withdrawal, experts are increasingly suggesting that exercise can alleviate withdrawal symptoms.
Relapse prevention: People recovering from alcohol use disorder, who have completed the withdrawal phase of detox, have lower urges to drink when they are able to engage in bouts of exercise.
