Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2025

First exams 2027

Non-drug Therapies (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note

Exam code: 7182

Laura Swash

Written by: Laura Swash

Reviewed by: Cara Head

Updated on

Stress inoculation therapy

  • Stress Inoculation Therapy (SIT) is a ‘talking therapy’ and a form of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) that engages in cognitive restructuring of thoughts

  • SIT prepares people to cope with stress similarly to an injection, preparing a body’s defences against a virus or disease by exposing them to a small ‘dose’ of it to protect them against greater levels later on

  • SIT was developed by Meichenbaum (1985) and operates in three stages:

    • Conceptualisation: the client identifies and expresses their fears and is encouraged to re-live stressful situations, analysing them and how they attempted to deal with them

    • Skill acquisition and rehearsal: the client is taught how to relax, how to think differently about stressors and how to express their emotions, as well as learning specific skills such as time management to reduce stress

  • Application and follow-through: this is the ‘inoculation’ part of the training, and clients work on transferring coping skills across increasingly demanding levels of stressors using role play and imagery, and afterwards feeding back to the trainer

Biofeedback

  • Biofeedback is based on operant conditioning and uses technology so an individual can see and hear the physiological reactions that occur when under stress 

  • The individual is taught relaxation techniques and connected to machines measuring muscle tension (EMG), brain activity (EEG) and skin sweat (SCR)

  • When increased muscle activity, brain activity and sweating are identified, visual and audio feedback is given

  • The client learns how to use relaxation techniques when stressed

  • The client is set targets, for instance, reducing muscle tension, and the relaxation techniques combined with the instant audio-visual feedback help them reach their targets, reinforcing the behaviour 

  • Relaxation techniques used while receiving biofeedback help to decrease the heart rate

Research which investigates non-drug therapies

  • Meichenbaum (2001) reported that SIT modelling films, wherein role models demonstrated coping skills, were used to successfully control anger and stress in alleged rape victims when preparing them for forensic examination

  • Lemaire et al. (2011), in an experiment, gave biofeedback therapy to doctors (a stressful occupation) for 28 days and found it reduced their stress levels in comparison to a control group

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In preparation, it would help to create a spider diagram or mind map of all the stress treatment therapies you have learnt about. This would be easy to reproduce in the exam in a few minutes, so you can select what you need to answer the question.

Evaluation of non-drug therapies

Strengths

  • SIT inoculates against future as well as current stressful situations, as it is effective over long periods, and people can continue after the therapy to practise and apply skills they have learned to any type of stressful situation they encounter

  • SIT and biofeedback are not invasive and have no negative side effects or addictive qualities, giving them an advantage over drug therapies

Limitations

  • SIT requires individual commitment and motivation over a long period and if a person is suffering from extreme stress, this is not easy to achieve 

  • Biofeedback involves expensive specialist equipment and supervision and the success may be more due to the relaxation techniques, in which case such expense is unnecessary

Issues & Debates

  • Non-drug therapies like SIT and biofeedback support the idea of free will

    • Individuals are actively involved in learning and applying coping strategies, rather than being passive recipients of medication

    • This contrasts with biological determinism, which suggests our stress responses are fixed and only treatable via drugs

  • These therapies take a holistic approach, recognising that stress is influenced by a combination of cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and physiological factors

    • Unlike drug treatments, SIT and biofeedback address both the symptoms and root causes of stress, treating the person as a whole rather than just targeting biological symptoms

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Laura Swash

Author: Laura Swash

Expertise: Psychology Content Creator

Laura has been teaching for 31 years and is a teacher of GCSE, A level and IB Diploma psychology, in the UK and overseas and now online. She is a senior examiner, freelance psychology teacher and teacher trainer. Laura also writes a blog, textbooks and online content to support all psychology courses. She lives on a small Portuguese island in the Atlantic where, when she is not online or writing, she loves to scuba dive, cycle and garden.

Cara Head

Reviewer: Cara Head

Expertise: Biology & Psychology Content Creator

Cara graduated from the University of Exeter in 2005 with a degree in Biological Sciences. She has fifteen years of experience teaching the Sciences at KS3 to KS5, and Psychology at A-Level. Cara has taught in a range of secondary schools across the South West of England before joining the team at SME. Cara is passionate about Biology and creating resources that bring the subject alive and deepen students' understanding