Transcript Document
Where the Rubber Meets the Road: How to Make Skills Training Individualized, Interactive, and Fun Susan Gingerich, MSW [email protected] 11-22-13 Overview of Topics Today • Helping people identify truly meaningful goals as part of their participation in EBPs • Identifying skills that can be applied in the pursuit of those goals • Teaching skills • Making process interactive • Being creative and having fun • What will you do when you leave the workshop? Setting Truly Meaningful Personal Goals Usually Involves: • Thinking about different areas of one’s life • Identifying specific areas that one is dissatisfied with or that one would like to improve upon • Articulating the changes that one would like to see • Identifying the necessary steps for making the changes Characteristics of Goals People often have most success with • Behaviorally specific • Important and meaningful (what would achieving this goal mean to me? how would it change my life? What would be better if?) • Constructive not “eliminative” • Functionally oriented when possible • Person has some confidence in achieving it Avoiding “Dead Person’s Goals” Goal that a dead person could achieve Stop yelling at my kids Quit being Depressed Stop drinking Goal that a living person could achieve Learn some parenting skills for setting limits Play guitar with my cousin Get a job with computers Breaking down goals • Rule of 6’s: 6 months to a year for long term goals 6 weeks for short term goals 6 days for a step IMR Goal Tracking Sheet The process of Achieving Goals Usually Involves: • Steadily working on taking steps toward the change • Getting support and assistance (as needed) • Celebrating successes and overcoming obstacles along the way • Learning skills (as needed) Examples of Identifying Skills Goal Skill from IMR From Social Skills Making Friends Starting conversations Keeping a conversation Reconnecting with old going friends Finding common interests Getting a job Coping with symptoms Asking questions Managing Stress Giving information Reduce Developing a Relapse Making a request medicati Prevention Plan Disagreeing on Coping with symptoms constructively Effective Method of Teaching Skills 1. Establish a rationale for the skill 2. Discuss the steps of the skill (3-4 good) 3. Model the skill & review it with person (or group) 4. Engage person in a role play using a situation relevant to him or her 5. Provide & elicit positive feedback Making the teaching process interactive Offer opportunities from the get-go for verbal input by individuals: • why they think the skill might be useful • reading the steps of the skill • commenting on why a step might be important • giving feedback on your role play Teaching interactively, cont’d Develop role play scenarios that are relevant to individuals and reflect their real life • What’s an example of a situation where using this skill might be helpful? • Describe the situation/paint me a picture (who, what, where, when) • Keep role play short and sweet Teaching interactively in a group • Elicit helpful feedback from group members (How did you think X did with looking at Y when he was practicing making a request?) • Help group members recognize their commonalities (Who else encounters drug dealers on their way home?) • Aim for group members to be glad they role played, & gave feedback (Thanks, that was really helpful). Being Creative and Having Fun A few caveats • Stay within the model of the EBP • Make sure individuals know how the activity connects to the EBP • Avoid becoming an activity group • Keep preparation time short, and avoid activities that require expensive supplies Being Creative and Having Fun A few examples for role plays • Set the stage with simple believable props • Be active, making use of entrances, exits, standing up, sitting down • With caution, do contrast modeling (e.g., eating politely versus eating impolitely) • Encourage laughter & applause Being Creative and Having Fun A few examples for games • Jeopardy-type games to retrieve knowledge • “Pick-a-card any card” with different questions or skills on each card (e.g., what is a coping skill that someone could use when they hear voices while shopping?) • Name that emotion Being Creative and Having Fun Celebrations of Progress • Certificates for completing modules • Certificates for achieving goals • Graduation for completing whole program (individuals can design invitations for family and friends, plan the program, provide singing or act in skits, say what they learned ) Celebrations, cont’d • Outings to use new skills • Becoming a mentor to someone else • Participating in selecting next module, or selecting the next EBP A Few Sources of Skills that Relate to People’s Goals • IMR: 3rd edition (2011) Gingerich & Mueser)Hazelden Press. • Integrated Treatment for Dual Disorders (2003), Mueser, et al. Guilford Press. • Behavioral Treatment for Substance Abuse in People with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness, (2007) Bellack, et al. Routledge Publication. • Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia (2004) Bellack, Mueser, Gingerich, Agresta. Guilford Press. Sources of Skills, cont’d • Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia (2004) Bellack, Mueser, Gingerich, Agresta. Guilford Press. • Coping Skills Group Book and Cards (2005). Gingerich & Mueser. Wellness Reproductions. • Behavioral Family Therapy for Psychiatric Disorders, 2nd Edition (1999). Mueser and Glynn. New Harbinger Publications. Applying workshop knowledge: Exercise • Think of a person you are working with. • What is the person’s goal? • What are some challenges the person has encountered in achieving the goal? • What are some skills that could help the person overcome these challenges? Brainstorm a list. • When can you talk to the person and get his or her input? What would you say to introduce the topic? Closing Thoughts “Having strategies for coping with mental illness is extremely important. It is hard to enjoy your life if you are constantly sick with mental illness. . . . . . However, believing in yourself, having hope that things will continue to get better, and looking forward to your future are also vital in overcoming mental illness. Our hopes and dreams are not delusions. Our hopes and dreams are what makes us human.” David, artist, writer, person in recovery from mental illness