Modelling and participant modelling

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Albert Bandura · 1969

What it is

Modelling therapy is a family of procedures from social learning (later social cognitive) theory. It is not one manualised therapy. In modelling, the client watches a model (live, filmed or imagined) deal with a feared or difficult situation without harm, or perform a skill well. In participant…

Format

• Modelling and participant modelling have no officially fixed session protocol. The research protocols had a consistent structure, set out below. Session counts are those of the research protocols; there is no clinical norm.
• Format: interview plus a behavioural approach test, in which the client attempts each task in order and stops where they cannot go on. Bandura's snake studies used an 18-task graded series. Before each test, clients privately marked which tasks they expected to manage and rated their confidence for…

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 any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• 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

• Avoidance of the hard component disguised as completing the whole task.
• Escape before the agreed interval. Shorten the interval rather than repeating failure.
• Stopping at the easy version. The terminal target should be the client's real-life situation.
• Consent to touch, and the client's understanding of how much support you are giving (see D3).
• Agreement given only to please the therapist. Check by asking what the client expects to happen.

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.