How to introduce yourself
People with chronic mental illnesses, especially thought disorders such as schizophrenia, often have severe social-skill deficits. Things that come naturally to you, such as walking up to someone and introducing yourself, can be very challenging for them.
Below is an example of social-skills training with a client who had residual schizophrenia.
Session 1: Met with Peter at his B&C and engaged him in a discussion about how to introduce himself to other people. First, we went over situations where he should consider doing this (e.g., at his doctor’s office, at his B&C, at the program, etc.). Explained that introductions were appropriate in settings where it was likely he would have contact with the person again, not places like the bus or the store or on the street. Introduced Peter to the 4 skills most important for successful introductions – making eye contact, stating a greeting followed by his name, adding a brief self-description, and using an optional gesture. Modeled appropriate eye contact, explaining that he should look directly into the other person’s eyes and maintain his gaze, but not fix his attention in such a way that he appeared to be staring. Role-played walking up to each other and making eye contact. Praised Peter for participating and told him we will cover skills 2-4 in future sessions.
Session 2: Met with Peter at his B&C and continued working him on how and when to introduce himself to other people. Began by reviewing and modeling appropriate eye contact from last week. Then went over skill #2, stating his name after a welcoming statement ("I don't think we've met before -- my name is Pete" or "How's it going? My name is Peter"). Explained that the greeting he chose might depend on the time of day or the formality of the situation, and that he should choose a greeting he thought would be well received by the other person. Role-played and provided feedback. Encouraged Peter to speak in a normal volume so he was not speaking too loudly or too softly, and to speak clearly so others would not misunderstand his name.
Session 3: Reviewed making eye contact and using an appropriate greeting, which we worked on in prior sessions. Today we covered skills 3 and 4 -- adding a brief self-description (e.g., "I live up front" for use at his B&C, or "I've been coming here for about a year now" for the program). Modeled adding a brief description, cautioning Peter to keep it short as the goal is just to explain his connection and give the other person a way of identifying him. Then I demonstrated gestures he could add, such as a handshake, to formalize the introduction, but told him not to do this unless he felt comfortable with it.
Session 4: Modeled skills Peter learned in prior sessions to help him internalize them. Engaged him in a conversation about things he does well while modeling desirable social skills such as asking questions, maintaining eye contact, shaking my head "yes", smiling at appropriate times, and showing interest with brief responses to things he said. Afterwards I reviewed with Peter what I had done to demonstrate interest and encourage him to continue sharing.
Session 5: Reviewed the skills we covered in earlier sessions by asking Peter how things had been going for him and modeling the skills as he answered (i.e., maintaining eye contact, asking questions, nodding in approval, using facial expressions to show curiosity and concern, maintaining an engaged stance rather than sitting back with my arms folded). Went through each of these behaviors individually, helping Peter replicate them one by one. Then I directed Peter to ask me an open-ended question and try using 2 or 3 of these skills as I was responding to him. Praised Peter for doing this with me as I knew it was challenging for him.
Session 6: Assured Peter he had done well in our prior 2 sessions and asked him how he felt about it. Continued to reinforce skills necessary for successful introductions by maintaining eye contact without staring, nodding my head "yes", using body language to express interest, smiling at appropriate times, asking him to clarify or expand on things he said, and maintaining an open posture. When he finished talking, I reviewed with him what I had been doing while he was talking to me and why it was important. We then switched roles so Peter could practice doing the same things while I answered one of his questions. Encouraged him to begin using these skills in real-life situations and let me know how it goes.