Managing Stress Flashcards
STRESS INOCULATION THERAPY
What does it involve?
It involves training the individual to recognise symptoms of stress and then teaching the individual’s certain skills to minimise their stress
STRESS INOCULATION THERAPY
Developed by who?
Developed by meichenbaum & is a cognitive-behavioural approach to managing stress
STRESS INOCULATION THERAPY
How does it work?
It has 3 stages:
Stage 1) CONCEPTUALIZATION
•the participant discusses past stressful events (in a group or individual setting). Then considers what circumstances cause them stress and assess how they’ve tried to cope in the past. ➡️ encourages thinking of their cognitive appraisal of stress
Stage 2) SKILLS ACQUISITION AND REHEARSAL
•therapist train the individual in a variety of coping strategies.
Generally include general skills (relaxation techniques) and specific ones that are catered to the individual… i.e. Mother finding it stressful coping with child would be taught parenting strategies aswell as general skills.
Participant then rehearses the strategies learnt under the supervision of therapist.
Stage 3) APPLICATION
•participants encouraged to test out their newly acquired skills in a variety of settings
•therapists introduce gradually, simulated stressors to test the participants ability to cope
•follow up sessions scheduled to monitor individuals progress
STRESS INOCULATION THERAPY
How it works? Apply to real life situation?
Exam stress
1⃣- fear of failing, letting parents down, having no control over questions, panic attacks in hall
2⃣- taught study skills (improving memory etc), communications skills (talking with parents) and general relaxation techniques
3⃣- rehearse in real life situations
Evaluation of SIT?
STRENGTHS- Combination of approach holistic Behavioural elements provide practical application to real life Benefits can last years as it is taught Meichenbaum proved its effective
WEAKNESSES-
Need participant to be willing
Expensive
Hard to pinpoint which factor is most effective as so many diff techniques involved in SIT
MEICHENBAUM
Aim?
Aim- to compare a group of anxious students receiving cognitive modification (s.i.t) with a group being treated by desensitisation and a control group who were waiting for therapy
MEICHENBAUM
Background?
S.i.t directly tackles negative thinking and replaced it with positive thinking and relaxation techniques
MEICHENBAUM
Sample?
Sample- 21 students (aged 17-25)
Responded to add in university newspaper for treatment of test anxiety
MEICHENBAUM
Method?
Field experiment -
•participants were assessed before and after treatment by self reports and grade averages
•blind design as assessors didn’t know what condition participant had been in
MEICHENBAUM
Design?
Design- matched pairs design
•random allocation to three groups
•gender was controlled to be equal in each group
•anxiety levels were also matched
MEICHENBAUM
Procedure?
All participants were:
•tested using a test anxiety questionaire
•then told they were doing a IQ test, and would be assessed using an anxiety adjective checklist
•after IQ were then given a baseline score and allocated to groups
SIT GROUP:
•received 8 sessions of therapy
•given the insight approach so could think about their thoughts prior to the test
•given some positive statements and relaxation techniques to use in test situations
SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION
•revived 8 therapy, using the progressive relaxation technique - encouraged to practice at home whilst imagining anxiety causing situations
CONTROL GROUP :
•told they were on the waiting list and would be receiving therapy in the future
MEICHENBAUM
Results?
Participants in the SIT group showed improvement in test results after therapy
Significant difference between groups who reviewed therapy and those that didn’t
Participants in the SIT group showed improvement in reported anxiety levels after the therapy
Overall improvement in anxiety levels between therapy groups and control group
BIOFEEDBACK
techniques used?
It uses both psychological and physical techniques.
- PSYCHOLOGICAL- individual learns through operant conditioning to control adverse feedback
- PHYSICAL- individual is connected up to a variety of biological measuring devices.
BIOFEEDBACK
What does miller argue?
Miller argues that the AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (ANS) can be bought under voluntary control through biofeedback
BIOFEEDBACK
HOW IT WORKS?
First the type of physical instrument used depends upon the individual and the specific problem.
Can be used for specific problems such as - migraines, tension headaches and generalised stress symptoms
