For example, the client would be trained to view wreath as problems to be solved. Following this is the skills acquisition phase which is where coping skills are taught and practiced primarily in the clinic and then gradually rehearsed in real life. An example of these skills would include educating clients about the importance of positive thinking, relaxation, social skills and time management.
At the end of this is the application phase where the client can now apply their newly taught coping skills in different situations which become increasingly stressful.For instance, some of the techniques they may use include activities such as imagery, modeling, and role playing. It would also include watching someone else and then imitating them. For the most part SIT has been linked to improving performance during sports such as: cross country running, basketball and in particular very effective at boosting the performance of gymnasts. Despite this a limitation of SIT would be that it mainly requires time, effort, motivation and money. On the whole SIT has been used by sports men and women to help overcome the stress that would otherwise slow down their performance.
Many sports men and omen unintentionally respond to stress with maladaptive thoughts which in return interferes with their performance. However, once they understand how their previous thoughts have kept them from reaching their full potential, they begin to develop new coping strategies which can ultimately have a positive impact on their performance, hence the reason why this particular method is used for stress management. Nonetheless, a second method of stress management would be hardiness training which is made up of focusing, reliving stress encounters and self- improvement.In the first step clients are taught the biological signs of stress such as muscle tension and increased heart rate. Yet, in the second phase the clients relive stress encounters and analyses the situations and their responses.
Lastly in the third phase the intuition they've gained can now be used to move forward and as a result learn new techniques of dealing with stress. In addition to this it's also been used on Olympic swimmers to ensure that they're committed to the challenge of increased performance levels and are able to control further stressful aspects that occur in heir lives.On the other hand, a problem with hardiness training is that it cannot be seen as a quick solution to stress due to the time consuming aspects it must first address such as basic aspects of personality and former learned habits of coping which are particular difficult to change . Despite there being some limitations to it the reason as to why hardiness training is such a useful method to be using for stress management is because of its rejuvenating steps that help to overcome the many struggles with stress.
