Treatment Planning and Interventions · Psychoeducation Delivery

Say It Out Loud

Six moments in a session, two things you could say in each. Both get said in real sessions. One of them is what the implementation paragraph for that intervention actually specifies.

What this exercise practises

Delivering the core psychoeducational interventions in actual words, in the order the section specifies, and noticing the difference between offering information and offering reassurance.

In most of these pairs the weaker option is kind, accurate and starts in the wrong place. That is the failure mode worth being able to hear in your own voice.

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 20 minutes

1Six pairs
2Its status
3Close

Before you begin

How this one works

Six moments in a session, each with two things you could say. Both are things clinicians say. One of them is what the implementation paragraph for that intervention actually specifies.
The differences are small and they are not stylistic. In most of the pairs the weaker option is kind, accurate, and starts in the wrong place.
The stronger side alternates between first and second, so it cannot be guessed from position.
Nothing is graded and nothing is recorded. Reloading starts it again.

Psychoeducation is among the highest-yield interventions in sex therapy and is frequently underestimated by clinicians trained in modalities that prioritise insight or experiential work. It is also the intervention most often delivered badly, because delivering it well requires saying particular things in a particular order rather than conveying information.

References

  1. Basson, R. (2001). Using a different model for female sexual response to address women's problematic low sexual desire. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 27(5), 395–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/713846827
  2. Chivers, M. L., Seto, M. C., Lalumière, M. L., Laan, E., & Grimbos, T. (2010). Agreement of self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal in men and women: A meta-analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(1), 5–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9556-9
  3. Litzinger, S., & Gordon, K. C. (2005). Exploring relationships among communication, sexual satisfaction, and marital satisfaction. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 31(5), 409–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926230591006719
  4. Mallory, A. B., Stanton, A. M., & Handy, A. B. (2021). Couples' sexual communication and dimensions of sexual function: A meta-analysis. The Journal of Sex Research, 56(7), 882–898. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1568375
  5. Montesi, J. L., Fauber, R. L., Gordon, E. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2011). The specific importance of communicating about sex to couples' sexual and overall relationship satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28(5), 591–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407510386833