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Assertiveness Training in Couple and Family Therapy

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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy
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Name of the Strategy or Intervention

Assertiveness training

Synonyms

Assertion training

Introduction

The consensus definition of assertiveness is a verbal and nonverbal interpersonal behavior and a direct expression of one’s feelings and wants that is based on the person’s best interest, which respects the person and the other people’s rights (Alberti and Emmons 1974; Wolpe and Lazarus 1966). Assertiveness training (AT) was developed to help people effectively express their feelings, wants, and rights in their relationships with others and in various contexts of their lives (Speed et al. 2017). The purpose of AT has gone through an evolution and has been used in a wide range of population, including both clinical and nonclinical contexts. Peneva and Mavrodiev (2013) noted that in the 1960s, AT was utilized to overcome mental illnesses and to attain personal growth; in the 1970s, to protect individual rights; in the 1980s to 1990s, to attain self-accomplishment and self-approval and to...

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References

  • Alberti, R., & Emmons, M. L. (1974). Your perfect right: A guide to assertive behavior. San Luis Obispo: Impact Press.

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  • Lease, S. H. (2018). Assertive behavior: A double-edged sword for women at work? Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12226.

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  • Lee, T.-Y., Chang, S.-H., Chu, H., Yang, C.-Y., Ou, K.-L., Chung, M.-H., & Chou, K. R. (2013). The effects of assertiveness training in patients with schizophrenia: A randomized, single-blind, controlled study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(1), 2549–2559. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12142.

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  • Peneva, I., & Mavrodiev, S. (2013). A historical approach to assertiveness. Psychological Thought, 6(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v6i1.14.

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  • Speed, B. C., Goldstein, B. L., & Goldfried, M. R. (2017). Assertiveness training: A forgotten evidence-based treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12216.

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Correspondence to Sara J. Lee .

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Lee, S.J. (2019). Assertiveness Training in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_72

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