Coping Strategies to Promote Mental Health

Training Modules for Occupational Therapists and Other Care Providers

Theresa Straathof

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781032039169
• eBook ISBN: 9781000461114
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Occupational Therapy

This manual offers care providers a unique combination of evidence-based methods for adult learning and coping strategy development when training clients individually or in groups.

Coping strategies help clients to engage and thrive in meaningful self-care, as well as productive and leisure occupations. The coping strategies are divided into four categories: health and wellness routines, changing the body's response to stress, changing the situation, and changing attitudes. Each category contains four modules with client handouts for coping strategy training, including sleep hygiene, suicide safety planning, setting healthy boundaries, and cultivating gratitude. Every module contains a facilitator lesson plan, specific learning outcomes, and examples of expected client responses to ensure the learning is taking place.

Occupational therapists and other care providers, both novice and experienced, will find this manual useful to improve efficiencies in practice and provision of meaningful teachings.

1Modules

Health and Wellness Routines

DOI: 10.4324/9781003189695-2

1.1 Sleep Hygiene to Improve Daily Occupations

LEARNING POINT

How one prepares for sleep can influence the quality of rest achieved.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Given checklist, sleep hygiene game, lecture, discussion, practice and feedback;
• The learner will value sleep hygiene;
• To the extent that at least four behaviours to promote healthy sleep are chosen from guidelines, and then are written in a schedule on provided template, and a verbal commitment is made to follow one named behaviour for two days;
• As evaluated by self, peers and therapist/facilitator.

MATERIALS

Whiteboard or flipchart and markers, cards for sleep game (copied from handout: Card game: Answer sheet, cut and shuffled)

HANDOUTS

• Sleep hygiene checklist
• Sleep facts
• Card game: Answer sheet
• My four chosen behaviours to improve sleep quality
• One-day schedule

Table 1.1 Sleep hygiene to improve daily occupations

Time frame	Learning stage	Facilitator	Expected learner response
2 minutes	Orientation	[Say] Welcome, etc. [Say] Quality of sleep can be determined by how one prepares for sleep. Factors related to sleep hygiene, environment, relaxation and managing thoughts might improve deep, restful sleep and wellness (Mass & Robbins, 2012).
3 minutes	Clarification	[Say] The objective is: To schedule behaviours for improving sleep. [Say] Today we will: • Complete a self-assessment of factors to improve sleep • Review sleep facts • Carry out a quiz on healthy and unhealthy sleep habits
		• Map four behaviours in our daily routine to improve sleep • Make a commitment to participate in these routines [Ask] Are we good to go?	Yes.
5 minutes	Warm-up	[Say] Let’s consider things that might improve sleep quality. The first person will say their name, followed by … “I went to the store to buy …,” then list something that might improve sleep. The next person will start with the same sentence and include what the first person said plus one new item. For example, I went to the store to buy a relaxation tape. We will continue until everyone has one or two turns.	Examples could include: Decaf coffee, herbal tea, eye mask, affirmation booklet, alarm clock, walking shoes, dark curtains, etc.
7 minutes	Experience	[Do] Provide handout: Sleep hygiene checklist. [Say] This checklist includes tips that can improve quality of sleep. For each tip, rate if you do this rarely, sometimes or regularly.	Each member completes the checklist individually.
8 minutes	Reflection	[Ask] Did any tips that were suggested surprise you? What was a personal area of strength? What may need improvement? How do you feel when you see the number of tips you already use?	Yes – likely Personal responses. Perhaps surprised, encouraged.
12 minutes	Generalization	[Ask] What keeps us from using good sleep practices for quality rest? [Do] Provide handout: Sleep facts. [Say] Here are some sleep facts based on research literature and specialists on sleep quality. I will read them out loud. [Ask] Which one fact may be impacting your quality of sleep lately?	Lack of knowledge of strategies or false beliefs of things to improve sleep such as alcohol use. Lack of skills (e.g. reframing worry thoughts, relaxation techniques). Decreased value placed ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Endorsements Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Handouts
• Author Biography
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 Modules: Health and Wellness Routines
• 1 Handouts: Health and Wellness Routines
• 2 Modules: Change the Situation
• 2 Handouts: Change the Situation
• 3 Modules: Change Body Response to Stress
• 3 Change Body Response to Stress
• 4 Modules: Change Attitude
• 4 Change Attitude
• Index