Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia: A Step-by-Step Guide

by Kim T. Mueser PhD, Alan S. Bellack PhD, Susan Gingerich MSW, Julie Agresta, Daniel Fulford PhD

Overview

The authoritative presentation of social skills training (SST)—a highly effective, recovery-oriented intervention for people with serious mental illness—the third edition of this complete manual has been significantly revised with over 60% new material. SST can be implemented by a range of providers in diverse clinical and community settings. In a convenient large-size format, the book is packed with practical tools, including clinical vignettes, dialogues, reproducible curricula (Skill Sheets) for 84 skills, guidance for selecting skills to teach based on participants' needs, and tips for overcoming roadblocks. Purchasers get access to a companion website with downloadable copies of the Skill Sheets as well as online-only resources: 84 Social Skill Handouts for clients and 17 assessment forms and other tools for conducting SST groups. 

New to This Edition
*Chapters on specific populations: SST with young people with high clinical risk or first-episode psychosis, older individuals, and those in residential or inpatient settings. 
*Chapters on cultural factors in SST; gender, sexual identity, and sexual harassment; and technology-based communication.
*Three additional curricular areas—technology-based communication, school, and problem solving—for a total of 26 more skills than the prior edition.
*Many new reproducible and downloadable tools. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462555031
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	09/02/2024
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Kim T. Mueser, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University (BU), and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He is also affiliated with the BU Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, where he served as Executive Director from 2011 to 2016. Dr. Mueser has served as an editorial board member or editor of numerous peer-reviewed journals. He is a recipient of the Michael S. Neale Award from Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) of the American Psychological Association and the Armin Loeb Research Award from the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. He has coauthored over 400 peer-reviewed journal articles, 20 books, and 100 book chapters.

Alan S. Bellack, PhD, ABPP, until his retirement in 2013, was Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Psychology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Director of the VA Capitol Health Care Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). In recognition of his lifetime research on psychosocial aspects of schizophrenia, he received the Alexander Gralnick Research Investigator Award from the American Psychological Foundation, among other awards. Dr. Bellack is coauthor or coeditor of more than 190 journal articles, 30 books, and 46 book chapters in the areas of schizophrenia, depression, social skills training, and substance abuse.

Susan Gingerich, MSW, is a social worker based in Philadelphia. Ms. Gingerich has worked with individuals with schizophrenia and their family members since the 1980s. She currently serves as Training Coordinator and a trainer for the NAVIGATE program for first-episode psychosis, which integrates social skills training with other treatment components. She received the Larry J. Seidman Award for Leadership from the Psychosis-Risk and Early Psychosis Program Network (PEPPNET). Ms. Gingerich is the coauthor of several books and multiple articles related to her research interests, which include social skills training, illness management and recovery, technology-based support for preventing relapses, family education and support, and training community mental health centers in evidence-based practices. 

Julie Agresta, MEd, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Since the 1990s, she has provided consultation services to community-based programs and agencies serving adults and children with mental health disorders and developmental disabilities. Ms. Agresta also provides therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. She is President of the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work.

Daniel Fulford, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. Dr. Fulford’s clinical and research interests include motivational and social impairments in serious mental illness; he often uses ambulatory methods, including the development and testing of digital therapeutics, in his work. He has been named a Face of the Future by the Society for Research in Psychopathology and was co-recipient of a Visionary Grant from the American Psychological Foundation. Dr. Fulford has published his work in top journals and serves as Associate Editor for several journals, including the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science.

Table of Contents

Foreword, Patrick D. McGorry
I. Principles, Research, and Assessment
1. Schizophrenia, Social Skills, and Recovery 
2. SST as an Evidence-Based Practice
3. Assessment 
II. Teaching Social Skills
4. Methods for Teaching Social Skills
5. Starting an SST Group
6. Curricula for SST Groups
7. Tailoring Skills for Individual Needs and Goals
8. Solutions for Common Problems
III. Special Populations, Settings, and Needs
9. Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders
10. Clinical High Risk and First Episode Psychosis 
11. SST for Technology-Based Communication 
12. Older Individuals 
13. Inpatient and Residential Settings
14. Cultural Issues
15. Considerations for Gender and Sexual Identity and Social Skills Related to Sexual Harassment 
IV. Curricular Skill Sheets for Group Leaders
- Four Basic Social Skills
- Conversation Skills
- Assertiveness Skills
- Friendship and Dating
- Dealing with Conflict
- Dealing with Substance Use Situations
- Education Skills
- Work Skills
- Technology-Based Communication
- Living with Other People
- Interacting with Healthcare Professionals
- Solving Problems
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This book can and will change lives. Social skills are a critical aspect of quality of life for all people, and for those with serious mental illness, in particular. This book gives clinicians and administrators a structured, recovery-oriented framework for implementing groups to promote and teach critical social skills. The third edition includes discussions of SST in important areas, such as in first-episode psychosis, technology-based communication, and in different cultural contexts. This is a practical, step-by-step book that makes SST accessible and transparent."—Ken Duckworth, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness

"This dynamic, contemporary third edition brings together authors at the forefront of research and clinical services for people with schizophrenia. It includes cutting-edge research evidence for SST, including findings from meta-analysis and other rigorous evaluation strategies. The book translates complex medical and psychiatric information into simple, approachable language for professionals and students at any level. It is firmly anchored in evidence-based practices, but also has a foundational orientation toward mental health recovery. The authors demonstrate tools and interventions that support long-term gains in wellness and community living for individuals with serious mental illness."—Lisa A. Razzano, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago

"Improving the social skills of people with schizophrenia has tremendous implications for long-term prognosis. Previous editions of this book have been my 'go to' for teaching social skills in my own clinical work and for recommendation to students and colleagues. The third edition extends the principles of SST to a variety of new populations, such as individuals with first-episode psychosis; has important coverage of technology-based communication; and addresses ways to adapt SST depending on clients’ race, gender, and sexual identity, in order to make these skills more accessible to all. This book remains the resource on SST."—David Lewis Penn, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"This book is robust in its presentation of foundational theory and research, yet practical enough to help the busy clinician get started implementing SST immediately. Assessment tools and therapy worksheets are provided, along with plentiful examples. The book's modular approach and attention to specific populations allow practitioners to customize groups for the unique needs of service users and contexts. Experienced practitioners and students alike will find essential, evidence-based tools to support the recovery of individuals with schizophrenia.”—Shaun M. Eack, PhD, Professor and Endowed Chair in Social Work, School of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

"This work has long been a crucial resource for implementing SST. New material in the third edition makes it essential reading—even for clinicians familiar with the previous edition. The authors translate decades of research on psychopathology and SST into practical recommendations."—Stephen R. Marder, MD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles

From the Publisher

This book should be required reading for all those involved in the comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation of individuals with schizophrenia. We recommend it highly.” (on the second edition)

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

The authors provide all the necessary ingredients for implementing state-of-the-art social skills training as they focus on assessment, group leadership skills, and carrying out the group tasks with specific and well-designed curricula....This guide also serves as a textbook for students, enabling them to make giant leaps in their understanding of the nature and execution of evidence-based practices for individuals with persistent mental illness, making clinical experiences more rewarding for trainees and more precise for their supervisors. This instruction manual has the makings to become a classic reference book on the topic of social skills training.” (on the second edition)

Community Mental Health Journal

Any clinician, regardless of experience level, who is interested in providing social skills training to individuals with schizophrenia—or to their families—will find a wealth of practical, clinically and empirically sound information.” (on the second edition)

Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic