Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2025
First exams 2027
Non-drug Therapies (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note
Exam code: 7182
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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