Assertive Behaviour

Assertiveness Training (AT) has been widely researched and extensively applied for over two decades. Although some have claimed that it is an over-valued concept, too often applied when inappropriate, there is still an abundance of AT courses and therapists practising throughout the industrialized West. Despite such activity and debate, the field lacks any attempt to draw together the available material into a comprehensive and realistic appraisal of AT. This book provides a critical review and places AT in its social and cultural context, from the socially and politically activist 1960s to the more individualist 1980s, showing how the therapy has become an increasingly relevant option in today's society. Yet it is not enough to regard AT as a pop psychology panacea for post-modern troubles. Rakos describes it as a complex intervention requiring clinical expertise. containing a summary of the theoretical and empirical literature. He then draws conclusions from his own empirical research, and suggests techniques for intervention, as well as identifying issues requiring further research and debate.