German assertiveness training programme (Ullrich)

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Rüdiger Ullrich, Rita Ullrich de Muynck · 1976 · Munich

What it is

The ATP is a manualised, mainly group-based behaviour-therapy programme for social anxiety and insecurity ("soziale Störungen"), later also seen as the first manual for avoidant personality disorder (Sulz, as cited in the socialnet review). Clients work through a standardised hierarchy of 127…

Format

• Format. Original ATP: a closed therapy group running alongside individual therapy. Ullrich & Beth (2019, pp. 192–195) call the group with parallel individual therapy the ideal ("Königsweg"). Individual-only delivery and reduced variants are possible. Typical length: 25–35 double sessions of group…
• Indication for the full ATP: at least three U-scales and the FAF each more than one standard deviation above the norm. Otherwise use a reduced, individually selected set.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Phase 3: Criticism and personal scenes. Giving and receiving constructive criticism is introduced only after about 15–20 double sessions, when self-esteem is stable enough (Ullrich & Beth 2019, p. 197). Clients then build and rehearse their own problem scenes (Güroff's personal scenes; the socialnet review calls this free training with individual scenes).
• Phase 4: Transfer and aftercare. Real-life exercises continue as homework; Güroff has a chapter on what happens after the training (contents only seen).
• Version followed: the Assertiveness-Training-Programm (ATP) of Rüdiger Ullrich and Rita Ullrich de Muynck (Pfeiffer, Munich, 1976 onwards; therapist volume reissued by Klett-Cotta, Leben Lernen 123, 1998/2002). The ATP volumes themselves are not drawn on, so the procedure is reconstructed from (a) Ullrich & Beth (2019), a detailed account of the current ATP practice combined with schema therapy, and (b) Güroff…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• perfectionists choosing every criterion; limit them to one.
• the client using it to escape a scene rather than to stay in it.
• relaxation being used as an avoidance ritual before every attempt.
• "Yes, but..." Stop at the "yes" and have them finish only that half.
• vague criteria ("be confident"), which make positive feedback impossible.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.