Pattern Smashing
What is pattern smashing?
A way of deliberately doing the opposite of what you might do in order to increase flexibility and take action toward your values in demonstrating willingness to go beyond your comfort zone.
A dialectic is...
When two opposing ideas can still be true at the same time.
The "D" in DEARMAN stands for what?
Describe
60 percent of the population is what attachment style?
Secure
What does the acronym "ABC" stand for in behavior analysis?
A - Antecedent
B - Behavior
C - Consequence
Pattern smashing uses a similar framework to what DBT skill?
Opposite Action
Name one of the three dialectical dimensions.
Emotional Vulnerability versus Self-Invalidation
Active Passivity versus Apparent Competence
Unrelenting Crisis versus Inhibited Grieving
How could you "Appear confident" when using DEARMAN?
Having a relaxed body posture, calm tone of voice, and clearly assert your needs to the other person.
Your attachment style forms between what ages?
Between 0 and 2 years old
Jenna's mom found out that she's been sneaking her phone after curfew. Her mom then decides to take away the phone entirely. This is an example of a...
Negative Reinforcement
What's the first action in pattern smashing?
Finding the "smallest, easiest step."
What are the characteristics of Active Passivity?
-The tendency to approach life's problems helplessly
-Demanding the environment or people around them to solve their problems
The "R" in DEARMAN stands for what?
Reinforce
True or False: Your attachment style can change with time AND can vary in different relationships existing at the same time.
True
What is classical conditioning?
A learned process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired. At first it's elicited by the second stimulus which eventually will elicit the first stimulus alone.
What does the "ACT" skill acronym stand for? (Not the type of therapy, the SKILL).
A - Acceptance
C - Connect to Values
T - Take Action
DAILY DOUBLE: Inhibiting Grieving could be an example of what two defense mechanisms?
Deflection and Repression
A group of friends that you hang out with has been criticizing your clothes and haircut, but always laugh and say, “just joking." Apply DEARMAN to this scenario: Describe, Express, Assert, Reinforce, stay Mindful, Appear confident, and Negotiate.
Describe: my friends are criticizing my clothes and haircut but say "just kidding" after and laugh about it.
Express: It really hurts my feelings when my friends criticize me, even if they don't mean harm by it.
Assert: I am not okay with and need you to stop making jokes at my expense. If it does not stop, I will need to remove myself from these friendships.
Reinforce: I know that it is funny to you, but it hurts my feelings.
stay Mindful: use grounding techniques to stay present.
Appear confident: have a calm tone of voice, relaxed body posture, and make direct eye contact.
Negotiate: You can make jokes about how badly I play the piano, but not about my clothes or haircut.
You notice a seven-year-old in the mall clinging to their mom's waist. Every time the mom pushes their child away, they start screaming and crying. You overhear the mom telling the kid that they're "embarrassing" her and need to "stop being so dramatic." What attachment styles are present here? List both the child's and their mom's.
Child - Anxious/Preoccupied Attachment Style
Mom - Avoidant/Dismissive Attachment Style
A program therapist witnesses a patient drawing on the table in washable ink, which is against program expectations. As a result, the program therapist has the patient clean both the table and the chairs around the room that have writing on them. This is an example of a...
Positive Consequence
Jess apologizes for everything she does. Even when other people run into her at school, she's the one to apologize. She wants to use pattern smashing to reduce the number of times she apologizes. What is the smallest, easiest step she could take to achieve her goal?
Acceptable Answers:
-Finding a phrase to replace "I'm sorry"
-Write down her goal where she can see it and be reminded throughout the day
-Telling family and friends about her goal so they can help keep her accountable
A well-meaning parent has been ignoring, for a long time, an adolescent’s increasingly maladaptive behaviors, such as failing grades, spending more time with drug-using peers, and greater irritability and isolation at home. The parent might give the adolescent the benefit of the doubt, believing that this is a stage and will pass. Then, after the adolescent gets suspended for having drugs at school, the parent begins watching the adolescent like a hawk and interpreting even minor mood changes or requests for privacy as signs of engaging in these problematic behaviors. What's the middle path?
Several examples can be accepted here for credit.
How is "Expressing" different from "Asserting?"
Expressing refers to someone who's explaining their perspective or feelings, whereas asserting is someone clearly stating their needs BASED on their perspective or feelings.
Angie is a hopeless romantic and loves everyone she meets very quickly and deeply. However, she's afraid of people knowing or thinking that she's clingy or needy. As a result, she isolates herself and is afraid to get close to others out of fear of rejection. What attachment style does Angie most likely have?
Your parents are in an especially bad mood today. They take it out on you at dinner. They don't know that you had a horrible day at school and even failed a test you thought you'd ace. You decide to pack a bag and run away. After sneaking out your window, you notice two glowing eyes staring at you in the dark. All of a sudden, they lunge at you before you can move, and before you know it you've been bitten by a rabid racoon and have to be hospitalized. Categorize these events using the ABC Model.
A - Parents taking out their bad mood on you at dinner.
B - Running away
C - Getting bitten by a rabid racoon and being hospitalized