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“This book should be required reading for all those involved in the comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation of individuals with schizophrenia. We recommend it highly.”

—Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (on the second edition)


“Any clinician, regardless of experience level, who is interested in providing social skills training to individuals with schizophrenia—or to their families—will find a wealth of practical, clinically and empirically sound information.”

—Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic (on the second edition)


“The authors provide all the necessary ingredients for implementing state-of-the-art social skills training as they focus on assessment, group leadership skills, and carrying out the group tasks with specific and well-designed curricula....This guide also serves as a textbook for students, enabling them to make giant leaps in their understanding of the nature and execution of evidence-based practices for individuals with persistent mental illness, making clinical experiences more rewarding for trainees and more precise for their supervisors. This instruction manual has the makings to become a classic reference book on the topic of social skills training.”

—Community Mental Health Journal (on the second edition)


“Improving the social skills of people with schizophrenia has tremendous implications for long-term prognosis. Previous editions of this book have been my 'go to' for teaching social skills in my own clinical work and for recommendation to students and colleagues. The third edition extends the principles of SST to a variety of new populations, such as individuals with first-episode psychosis; has important coverage of technology-based communication; and addresses ways to adapt SST depending on clients’ race, gender, and sexual identity, in order to make these skills more accessible to all. This book remains the resource on SST.”

—David Lewis Penn, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


“This book is robust in its presentation of foundational theory and research, yet practical enough to help the busy clinician get started implementing SST immediately. Assessment tools and therapy worksheets are provided, along with plentiful examples. The book's modular approach and attention to specific populations allow practitioners to customize groups for the unique needs of service users and contexts. Experienced practitioners and students alike will find essential, evidence-based tools to support the recovery of individuals with schizophrenia.”

—Shaun M. Eack, PhD, Professor and Endowed Chair in Social Work, School of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh


“This book can and will change lives. Social skills are a critical aspect of quality of life for all people, and for those with serious mental illness, in particular. This book gives clinicians and administrators a structured, recovery-oriented framework for implementing groups to promote and teach critical social skills. The third edition includes discussions of SST in important areas, such as in first-episode psychosis, technology-based communication, and in different cultural contexts. This is a practical, step-by-step book that makes SST accessible and transparent.”

—Ken Duckworth, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness


“This work has long been a crucial resource for implementing SST. New material in the third edition makes it essential reading—even for clinicians familiar with the previous edition. The authors translate decades of research on psychopathology and SST into practical recommendations.”

—Stephen R. Marder, MD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles

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Table of Contents

Foreword, Patrick D. McGorry

I. Principles, Research, and Assessment

1. Schizophrenia, Social Skills, and Recovery

2. SST as an Evidence-Based Practice

3. Assessment

II. Teaching Social Skills

4. Methods for Teaching Social Skills

5. Starting an SST Group

6. Curricula for SST Groups

7. Tailoring Skills for Individual Needs and Goals

8. Solutions for Common Problems

III. Special Populations, Settings, and Needs

9. Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders

10. Clinical High Risk and First Episode Psychosis

11. SST for Technology-Based Communication

12. Older Individuals

13. Inpatient and Residential Settings

14. Cultural Issues

15. Considerations for Gender and Sexual Identity and Social Skills Related to Sexual Harassment

IV. Curricular Skill Sheets for Group Leaders

- Four Basic Social Skills

- Conversation Skills

- Assertiveness Skills

- Friendship and Dating

- Dealing with Conflict

- Dealing with Substance Use Situations

- Education Skills

- Work Skills

- Technology-Based Communication

- Living with Other People

- Interacting with Healthcare Professionals

- Solving Problems

References

Index

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About the Authors

Kim T. Mueser, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University (BU), and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He is also affiliated with the BU Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, where he served as Executive Director from 2011 to 2016. Dr. Mueser has served as an editorial board member or editor of numerous peer-reviewed journals. He is a recipient of the Michael S. Neale Award from Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) of the American Psychological Association and the Armin Loeb Research Award from the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. He has coauthored over 400 peer-reviewed journal articles, 20 books, and 100 book chapters.

• Author's website
• All titles by Kim T. Mueser

Alan S. Bellack, PhD, ABPP, until his retirement in 2013, was Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Psychology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Director of the VA Capitol Health Care Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). In recognition of his lifetime research on psychosocial aspects of schizophrenia, he received the Alexander Gralnick Research Investigator Award from the American Psychological Foundation, among other awards. Dr. Bellack is coauthor or coeditor of more than 190 journal articles, 30 books, and 46 book chapters in the areas of schizophrenia, depression, social skills training, and substance abuse.

• All titles by Alan S. Bellack

Susan Gingerich, MSW, is a social worker based in Philadelphia. Ms. Gingerich has worked with individuals with schizophrenia and their family members since the 1980s. She currently serves as Training Coordinator and a trainer for the NAVIGATE program for first-episode psychosis, which integrates social skills training with other treatment components. She received the Larry J. Seidman Award for Leadership from the Psychosis-Risk and Early Psychosis Program Network (PEPPNET). Ms. Gingerich is the coauthor of several books and multiple articles related to her research interests, which include social skills training, illness management and recovery, technology-based support for preventing relapses, family education and support, and training community mental health centers in evidence-based practices.

• All titles by Susan Gingerich

Julie Agresta, MEd, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Since the 1990s, she has provided consultation services to community-based programs and agencies serving adults and children with mental health disorders and developmental disabilities. Ms. Agresta also provides therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. She is President of the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work.

• All titles by Julie Agresta

Daniel Fulford, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. Dr. Fulford’s clinical and research interests include motivational and social impairments in serious mental illness; he often uses ambulatory methods, including the development and testing of digital therapeutics, in his work. He has been named a Face of the Future by the Society for Research in Psychopathology and was co-recipient of a Visionary Grant from the American Psychological Foundation. Dr. Fulford has published his work in top journals and serves as Associate Editor for several journals, including the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science.

• Author's website

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Audience

Clinical psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation counselors, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and occupational therapists.

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Course Use

May serve as a supplemental text in graduate-level courses.

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Previous editions published by Guilford:

Second Edition, © 2004
ISBN: 9781572308466

First Edition, © 1997
ISBN: 9781572301771

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New to this edition:

• Chapters on specific populations: SST with young people with high clinical risk or first-episode psychosis, older individuals, and those in residential or inpatient settings.
• Chapters on cultural factors in SST; gender, sexual identity, and sexual harassment; and technology-based communication.
• Three additional curricular areas—technology-based communication, school, and problem solving—for a total of 26 more skills than the prior edition.
• Many new reproducible and downloadable tools.