Training in social problem solving among persons with schizophrenia

The specificity of the different curricula used for training persons with s chizophrenia in the wide spectrum of skills they need is both a strength an d a limitation. By separately teaching skills for each domain of community adaptation, clinicians using behavioral learning principles have overcome m ost symptomatic and cognitive barriers to learning. It is axiomatic in beha vior therapy that "you get what you teach"; hence it has been necessary to adopt arduous training in many areas to bring about improvements in social functioning (1). Although social skills training has yielded excellent acquisition and durab ility of skills, generalization to other domains of functioning has to be c arefully programmed. One way to promote generalization is to teach persons with schizophrenia a general social problem-solving method. In the modules for training social and independent living skills produced by Liberman's UC LA group, problem solving is embedded in two of the eight learning activiti es for each skill area, which may account for the durability and generaliza tion of skills reported in recent studies of the modules (2-4). Information about the modules for teaching social and independent living skills is ava ilable on the Web site of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Consultants at www.psy chrehab.com.