| Cue-Controlled Relaxation Training
has been an integral component of behavioral counseling
since the late 1950s. Relaxation training involves
the systematic relaxing of each of the body’s
major muscle groups while the therapist provides
modeling of relaxed behaviors, manual guidance and
verbal prompts, and concurrent instructions for
the trainee to observe how he/she feels when relaxed.
A word, such as “relax,” is often paired
with the trainee’s relaxed response, which
establishes a verbal cue (i.e., the word “relax”)
for achieving an overall state of relaxation; once
established, the external verbal cue can be utilized
to help the trainee control his or her level of
arousal across specific situations, people, and
environments that ordinarily can be anticipated
to trigger negative responses such as anxiety, panic,
and stress.
Relaxation training is frequently utilized as
a component of an overall behavioral treatment
program. When used in this manner, relaxation
training has repeatedly been shown to contribute
to the reduction of self-injurious behaviors,
destruction of property, aggressive behaviors,
inappropriate sexual behaviors, and disruptive
behaviors.
Relaxation training is an outstanding proactive
intervention in that it provides consumers with
self-management skills that can enable them to
cope with difficult situations that might otherwise
interfere with their ability to fully participate
and adequately function during their everyday
activities.
|
Marriage
& Relationships
