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"SIT Training" Stress Inoculation Training

Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) is a multidimensional type of cognitive-behavioral therapy

designed to help individuals cope with stress in a variety of environments and activities. Stress Inoculation Training was initially developed by psychologist Donald Meichenbaum in the 1980s and has been employed to mitigate the negative results of stress in a variety of situations in the Military, Law Enforcement and a multitude of Corporate and Private situations. The core of Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) is the exposure of an individual to increasing levels of perceived stress. By employing different coping mechanism, they eventually develop an increased tolerance or immunity to a particular stimulus and thereby improve their ability to function under a given stressor.

AlphaCorps’ training consists three phases which are designed to both empower

• individuals and enhance their range of coping skill sets.

1. Conceptualization – This phase is designed to achieve two specific goals. First, it builds

a relationship between the Instructor, Coach or Therapist. Second, it educates the

individual, increasing their understanding and awareness of his or her stress response

and existing coping skill set. According to Mr. Meichenbaum, is it preferential for this

phase to be less didactic and more Socratic in nature. Hence we utilize a program of

“curious questions” to promote an individual’s processing and discovery of themselves.

2. Skills Acquisition and Consolidation – This phase is all about developing and

practicing individual psychological tools and cognitive restructuring techniques (breathing

techniques, relaxation techniques, negative thought stopping, etc.). The goal is build the

coping mechanisms so that they can be applied in the next phase of training, in order to

regulate negative emotions and increase control over physiological responses. They are

discovered, nurtured, and strengthened in a collaborative manner with an Instructor

and/or Therapist.

3. Application and Follow-through – This phase is, in essence, the phase of inoculation.

On a graduated basis, an individual is exposed to increasing levels of a specific stressor.

The individual then practices applying the skills they have developed, in order to mitigate

his or her stress response and improve a specific skill set or reaction to a specific

stressor.

"SET Training" Stress Exposure Training

Where the intention of SIT Training is to assist individuals cope with physical pain, anxiety, anger, and fear as a result of traumatic experiences. This was a clinical intervention designed to treat pathological psychiatric conditions. However, various organizations and individuals saw the potential benefit of instituting this technique prophylactically. Organizations, including the Military and Law Enforcement as well as NASA, began to adapt the traditional structure of SIT in demonstrated substantial improvements in performance. SIT training has been adapted by many organizations and has expanded into Stress Exposure Training (SET). SET, originally proposed by Driskell and Johnston, takes a slightly different approach. It’s general structure is similar to the structure of the SIT cognitive behavioral approach, as it is dived into three analogous phases:

1. Information Provision – This phase provides information on the human stress response

(Fight or Flight), conditions participants should expect to encounter, and other

preparatory information.

2. Skills Acquisition – This phase is designed to develop and refine behavioral, technical,

and cognitive skills.

3. Application and Practice – This phase includes practicing skills under conditions that

approximate the operational environment with an aim of gradually attaining the level of

stress expected to be encountered in the operational environment.

SET is different in that, it takes a proactive approach to negative stress. It provides inoculation prior to a specific stressor being experienced and prior to trauma being developed. It prepares an individual without psychiatric pathology for potential stressors and situations that are likely to encounter in a given environment or situation.

What we at AlphaCorp call our training is not important to us, what is important to us

is that we maintain the salient training objectives and strategies as they have been

developed for SET. The goals of exposure training are as follows :

1. To gain knowledge and familiarity with a specific stressful environment or

situation.

2. To develop and practice task-specific skills (including various

psychological skills), as well as the improvement of decision making

processes, to be performed under stress.

3. To build confidence in an individual’s capabilities, which are based in

reality and truth and not in false bravado or misinformation.