Stress Inoculation

Summarised for revision

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Biomedical models

• These view the person receiving the therapy as a patient.

• This implies they receive support from the therapist.

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In contrast …

• Psychological models view the person receiving the treatment as a client.

• It offers a more participative approach from client and therapist

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Meichenbaum and Cameron

• Applied a cognitive-behavioural approach.

• The mind is retrained to either:– Reduce perceived demands– Learn to cope with the demands

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Stress inoculation

• Three phases:– Conceptualisation– Skills training– Real-life application

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Conceptualisation

• Clients relive the stressful situation and analyse their responses.

• Once they learn to recognise their ‘trigger’ they can be more realistic about the demands.

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Applied example

• What is it about the examination process that causes students to be stressed?– The circumstances?– Fear of personal failure?– Presence of strangers?– Feelings of inadequacy?– Anything else?

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Skills training and practice

• Clients are taught strategies for learning to cope:– Specific (make sure revision is

adequate)– Non-specific – e.g. Relaxation

techniques (make sure that reactions under examination conditions are controlled)

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Real life application

• The client now puts the training into a real life situation

• Contact with the therapist continues, but the relaxation itself acts as reinforcement in any case

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Evaluations (AO 2)

• Strengths– It deals with causes and symptoms– It works well

• Weaknesses– It takes time and money and a high

level of commitment from the client– It is always difficult to change habits

developed over a lifetime

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Give a brief account of and evaluate one

psychological method of stress management.

Note: You may need to criticise this method in the light of other methods, so

don’t just rely on these notes, but do your own additional research.

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