Why not work with family-members…………for a change. Interaction Skills Training (IST) for family-members

The main purpose of the Interaction Skills Training is to train relatives (of someone with a psychiatric disorder) in using effective communication and problem-solving skills when confronted with problematic behaviour related... [ view full abstract ]

The main purpose of the Interaction Skills Training is to train relatives (of someone with a psychiatric disorder) in using effective communication and problem-solving skills when confronted with problematic behaviour related to the disorder (‘empowerment’). In this intervention we use a graphic tool called ‘the Mat’, which is derived from the so-called ‘behaviour window’ by Gordon (1998). The Mat is an oilcloth with two compartments, one green and the other red (figure 1). When these two mats are joined with the green parts next to each other, it provides an instrument to observe interaction.

The Mat is placed in the middle of the training room, the course members are sitting around it. When observing the behaviour of the other person, there are two possibilities. Either you accept what the other does, in that case you are on the green part, or you do not accept it in which case you are in the red part. When an interaction problem is ‘put on the mat’, the persons are standing opposite to each other with the mat in between. A problem situation is explored and the trainer asks the persons to stand on the mat, either on the red or the green part, depending on whether they do or do not accept the behaviour of the other. During the role play the person can move from one part to the other, thus visualizing what is going on in the interaction process.

In the workshop we will show how the model works, and present several results of  research that has been done with the Mat of which two are published in Psychological Medicine.