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Generalization Training

Generalization Training
🛡️ Mastery 🧠 Cognition

Helping the client transfer SA skills from therapy into everyday life. "I don't need a therapist to see the link — I can do it myself."

Step-by-step guide

  1. Home SA: the client fills in the form independently (1-2 situations per week)
  2. Review in session: "What went well? Where were the sticking points?"
  3. Mini-SA "in the head": "When the situation happens — stop and ask: what do I want (DO)?"
  4. "What do I need to do to get the DO?"
  5. Tracking: "How many times this week did you notice the link between your behavior and the outcome?"
  6. Consolidation: "You are already running SA automatically. That is the goal"

When to use

  • From the middle of therapy onward
  • Mandatory in the closing phase

Key phrases

The point of SA is not that we do it here forever — it is that you start doing a short version inside your head in the real moment. Thirty seconds, five steps. Let's rehearse that compressed version.

Follow-up questions

What are the five words you will use on yourself in real time?
Where will you most likely catch yourself running mini-SA this week?
What will make it harder?
What is the cue that tells you the pattern started?

Alternative phrasings

Written SA continues at home — the internal version runs in real time.
If the internal version drops out under stress, we write it down again.

Warnings

  • ⚠️ Generalization is not automatic. It requires practice.
  • ⚠️ Do not drop homework too early.

Source: McCullough, 2000

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Materials are informational and educational and summarize publicly available scientific sources. They are not medical or psychological advice, are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, and do not replace consultation with a qualified professional.