Stress Inoculation Training: What It Is, How It Works, and Benefits
Stress inoculation training (SIT) is a therapeutic intervention commonly used for treating clients with stress-related and/or trauma-related conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. SIT teaches clients how to identify negative thinking patterns and triggers and develop coping skills to manage their symptoms and reduce their stress and anxiety
What Is Stress Inoculation Training?
Stress inoculation training is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
- It is commonly used to help people who have high levels of anxiety and stress.
- Therapists who use SIT work with clients to identify and alter negative thinking patterns that influence their perceptions and behaviors and then to reconfigure those thoughts and beliefs to create a more positive perspective.
Cognitive Restructuring
This is a five-step process that involves evaluating the validity of thoughts and beliefs, evaluating predictions, exploring alternative explanations, retraining in attribution, and altering catastrophic thinking styles
Self-Reward/Self-Efficacy Self-Instruction
Self-reward/self-efficacy self-instruction consists of making believable self-statements
- These statements can provide support for successful coping, rewards for trying to cope even when anxiety is not fully managed, realistic future expectations for anxiety control, and self-attributions to gain control over anxiety
Stress Inoculation Training
The adaptability of SIT means that it can offer numerous benefits for people dealing with a broad spectrum of issues.
- SIT can provide the following benefits: reduced anxiety symptoms, reduced panic attacks, improved ability to deal with stress, alleviated physical pain, reduced symptoms of PTSD, increased positive thoughts regarding self-esteem, reduced work-related stress, reduced performance anxiety, increased ability to handle anxiety-inducing transitions, reduced social anxiety, reduced assertiveness
- People working in high-stress fields, including healthcare workers, police officers, firefighters, military service members, and social workers, might benefit from SIT.
Three Phases of SIT
Conceptualization: During this phase, therapists conduct comprehensive interviews with the clients and educate them about how stress can negatively impact their life
- Skills Acquisition: After completing conceptualization, therapists help clients reduce anxiety and stress by teaching them appropriate coping skills for their situations and having them rehearse these skills
Key Takeaways
Stress inoculation training has improved the ability of people with anxiety and PTSD to manage their symptoms when encountering triggers
- It also might help those who work in regularly stressful occupations
- Those who want to try this therapeutic approach can search for a CBT therapist who regularly treats people with trauma and anxiety-related disorders
Applied Relaxation
Therapists train clients in skills such as progressive relaxation procedures, relaxation without tension, pleasant imagery, breathing exercises, and cognitively cued relaxation.
Problem-Oriented Self-Instruction
This coping skill includes task-oriented, problem-solving, self-instructional training for clients who don’t have the cognitive skills to solve a problem
What Is the History of Stress Inoculation Training?
In the early 1970s, Donald Meichenbaum developed SIT (stress intervention training) as a training program for stress and anxiety reduction
Stress Inoculation Training Work
During SIT, therapists teach clients to recognize triggering situations and develop coping skills that can help them when they encounter those triggers in the future.
When Is Stress Inoculation Training Used?
Stress inoculation training is commonly used in treating anxiety and anxiety-related disorders.