Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:19:19.699Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Anxiety Management in the Community: A Social Support Model and Preliminary Evaluation*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Derek Milne
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychology Services, Northumberland Health Authority Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford Social Services, Wakefield
Rosemary Jones
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychology Services, Northumberland Health Authority Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford Social Services, Wakefield
Pam Walters
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychology Services, Northumberland Health Authority Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford Social Services, Wakefield

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly evident that informal psychotherapy plays a significant part in the coping strategies people use to alleviate personal distress. A form of this “social support” was evaluated in a pilot study in which ex-clients served as therapists for informal community groups made up of people experiencing clinical anxiety. Three major questions were addressed: what are the training effects of a short workshop on the ex-clients' social support skills?; can the trained ex-clients help people suffering with clinical anxiety?; and finally, does this involvement have an adverse effect on the psychological well being of these lay therapists. Between and within group analyses with multiple measures indicated that the workshop was successful in all three targeted areas. Implications are drawn for the pattern of formal psychotherapy services.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banks, M. H., Clegg, C. W., Jackson, P. R., Kemp, N. J., Stafford, E. M. and Wall, T. D. (1980). The use of the General Health Questionnaire as an indicator of mental health in occupational studies. Journal of Occupational Psychology 53, 187194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrera, M. and Ainley, S. L. (1983). The Structure of Social Support: A conceptual and empirical analysis. Journal of Community Psychology 11, 133143.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J. and Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 4, 5363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernstein, G. S. (1984). Training of behaviour change agents. In Progress in Behaviour and Modification, (Volume 17), Eisler, R. M. and Miller, P. M. (Eds), London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Billings, A. G. and Moos, R. H. (1981). The role of coping responses and social resources in attenuating the stress of life events. Journal of Behaviour Medicine 4, 139157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bouchard, M. A., Wright, J., Mathieu, M., Laloud, F., Bergeron, G. and Tompin, J. (1980). Structured learning in teaching therapists social skills. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 48, 491502.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, D. T. and Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Cobb, J. P., Mathews, A. M., Childs-Clark, A. and Blowers, C. M. (1984). The spouse as co-therapist in the treatment of agoraphobia. British Journal of Psychiatry 144, 282287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowen, E. L. (1982). Help is where you find it. American Psychologist 37, 385395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coyne, J. C. and Delongis, A. (1986). Going beyond social support: the role of social relationships in adaptation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 54, 454460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edmundson, E. D., Bedall, J. R., Archer, R. P. and Gordon, R. E. (1982). “Integrating skill building and peer support in mental health treatment”. In Community Mental Health & Behavioural Ecology, Jeger, A. M. and Slotnick, R. S. (Eds), London: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Falloon, I., Wilkinson, G., Burgess, J. and McLess, S. (1987). Evaluation in Psychiatry: Planning, developing and evaluating community-based mental health services for adults. In Evaluating Mental Health Practice: Methods and Applications, Milne, D. L. (Ed), London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Gottleib, B. H. (1983). Social Support Strategies. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Hall, M. C. (1984). Responsive Parenting. In Parent Training, Dangel, R. F. and Polster, R. A. (Eds), London: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hattie, J. A., Sharpley, C. F. and Rodgers, H. J. (1984). Comparative effectiveness of professional and paraprofessional helpers. Psychological Bulletin 95, 534541.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopkinson, D. and Hurley, S. J. (1976). Helper ethics and the professional-paraprofessional gap. Professional Psychology 7, 319322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marks, I. M. and Mathews, A. M. (1979). Brief standard self-rating for phobic patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy 17, 263267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mathews, A. M., Gelder, M. G. and Johnston, D. W. (1981). Programmed practice for agoraphobia. London: Tavistock Publications.Google Scholar
Milne, D. L. (1986). Training Behaviour Therapists: Methods, Evaluation and Implementation with Parents, Nurses and Teachers. London: Croom-Helm.Google Scholar
Milne, D. L. (1987). An out-come evaluation of a routine clinical psychology service. In Evaluating Mental Health Practice: Methods and Applications. Milne, D. L. (Ed), London: Croom-Helm.Google Scholar
Milne, D. L. and Linford, J. (1984). Anxiety: How to Understand and Control your “Nerves”. Wakefield: MIND.Google Scholar
Milne, D. L. and Mullin, M. (1987). Is a problem shared and problem shaved? An evaluation of hairdressers and social support. British Journal of Clinical Psychology 26, 6970.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Donnell, J. M. and George, K. (1977). The use of volunteers in a community mental health centre emergency and receptions service. Community Mental Health Journal 13, 312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers-Warren, A. and Warren, S. F. (Eds) (1977). Ecological Perspective in Behaviour Analysis. Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Sherer, M. and Maddux, J. E. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: construction and validations. Psychological Reports 51, 663671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinnott, A., Jones, R. B., Scott-Fordham, A. and Woodward, R. (1981). Augmentation of in vivo exposure treatment for agoraphobia by the formation of neighbourhood self-help groups. Behaviour Research and Therapy 19, 339347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spooner, S. E. and Stone, S. C. (1976). Maintenance of specific counselling skills over time. Journal of Counselling Psychology 24, 6671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tennant, C. and Andrews, G. (1976). A scale to measure the stress of life events. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 10, 2732.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thoits, P. A. (1986). Social support as coping assistance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 54, 416423.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willems, E. P. (1973). Go ye into all the world and modify behaviour: an ecologist's view. Representative Research in Social Psychology 4, 93105.Google Scholar
Winefield, H. R. (1984). The nature and elicitation of social support: some implications for the helping professions. Behavioural Psychotherapy 12, 318330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winefield, H. R. (1987). Psychotherapy and social support: parallels and differences in the helping process. Clinical Psychology Review 7, 631644.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.