How to Teach Assertiveness Skills in Therapy: 5 Techniques

Assertiveness is a skill we can learn.

By getting better at it, we can improve how we communicate, relate to others, and ensure our needs are met.

Increasing assertiveness can be life changing for those of us who are shy, passive, or have a tendency to please others (Hill, 2020).

Training can help by removing or reducing the fear surrounding being assertive and encouraging us to stand up for ourselves calmly and positively, without aggression.

The following tools and techniques will help you or your client become more assertive while expressing thoughts and feelings respectfully.

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Teaching Assertiveness Skills in Therapy

Assertiveness training can be powerful with far-reaching benefits. For example, studies have shown that developing children’s assertive skills has the potential to reduce their likelihood of being bullied at school (Avşar & Alkaya, 2017).

In the workplace, assertiveness training is linked to reduced burnout and increased work commitment (Nakamura et al., 2017). When paired with self-confidence and respect for others, it can be the mark of a good, or even great, leader (Gallo, 2012).

Assertiveness training has proven valuable for building and maintaining relationships across all life domains and improving psychological wellbeing, with positive impacts on the following (Speed, Goldstein, & Goldfried, 2018):

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Self-esteem
• Relationship satisfaction
• Serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia)

While assertiveness training can take many forms, it is often incorporated into other broader treatments. Despite different labels, it typically involves the following components (Gallo, 2012):

• Understanding the context:
  Assertiveness is seen very differently depending on the culture and the environment (e.g., at work vs. at home). Balancing the degree of assertiveness with our needs remains a crucial element of assertiveness training.
• Evaluating your assertiveness:
  It is vital for training to encourage awareness regarding our assertiveness. Our challenge is to interpret our behavior (passive, assertive, or aggressive) compared with our degree of success. Did we get what we wanted? Did we upset people along the way?
• Setting goals and sticking to them:
  Training must sell the importance of preparing and practicing what we will say in future situations, real or imagined. Setting specific yet realistic goals, broken down into manageable chunks, can help clarify what we seek so we can approach difficult situations with a greater degree of openness.
• Building relationships:
  Assertiveness should not destroy relationships. Assertiveness training must teach us how to be heard and get the resources we need while breaking down barriers through trust.
• Being true to yourself:
  It can be easier to be assertive when we are authentic. If we are true to ourselves, our values, and our strengths, we can be more relaxed and self-assured.
• Avoiding bullying or aggression:
  Perhaps the most delicate aspect of teaching assertiveness is to ensure the individual is not resorting to or relying on bullying or aggression. When performed well, assertiveness brings clarity and fairness to the table and establishes an environment where everyone’s thoughts are equally heard.

Balance is crucial to assertiveness. Too much or too little force is unhelpful or even damaging. There is no point getting what you want out of life while ruining your relationships with others (Gallo, 2012).

5 Techniques for Therapists & Clients

Emma Gray (2015), psychologist and therapist in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) says, “assertiveness is the ability to get our needs met without preventing others from doing the same.”

Ideally, both person’s needs are met when agreeing. For example, the buyer may be assertive when purchasing a car, but if both parties agree on a deal and neither are disgruntled, then the transaction has been successful.

Gray (2015) suggests that therapists can help clients believe their needs are no less important than those of others. The therapist discourages the client from passivity, passive aggression, or aggression, favoring an assertive approach whereby communication is clear, straightforward, and calm.

Assertiveness depends on several attitudes and techniques that can be developed and practiced as part of therapy (Gray, 2015).

Confidence and strong self-esteem are crucial to being assertive. We must come to believe that we deserve to have our needs met. To overcome an overly strong and critical inner voice that continuously provides negative evaluations, try out the following:

• Maintain a daily log of achievements and successes to re-balance your internal focus on failure.
• Write a list of reasons that friends and family may give for spending time with you.
• Review the inner critic’s beliefs and thoughts to recognize their inaccuracy and unhelpfulness.

Managing criticism is never easy. If we handle criticism poorly or it mirrors our own harsh self-assessment, it can damage self-esteem and self-belief.

• Review the criticism. Consider if it is accurate and constructive. If so, we can reframe it as an opportunity to learn, improve, and change.

Knowing what you want makes being assertive more straightforward.

• Reflect on your values, needs, and goals. Pause and consider precisely what it is you want before attempting to be assertive.

Assertiveness is one cornerstone of good mental health. Once mastered as part of therapy, it can protect the client from anxiety and depression, and improve important relationships (Gray, 2015).

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Coaching in Assertiveness: 3 Ideas for Your Workshop

Assertiveness training must be tailored to the environment (such as group, individual, face-to-face, or online coaching) and the client’s needs.

Do’s and don’ts of assertiveness

It can be challenging to provide a definition of assertiveness that meets all situations. Instead, by considering a list of potential do’s and don’ts, we can tailor assertiveness accordingly (modified from Shaw, 2020):

Do’s

• Express needs clearly and directly, without feeling guilty.
• Stand up for your beliefs even when others disagree.
• Communicate efficiently and effectively.
• Maintain a positive attitude and growth mindset.
• Be confident about sharing your opinions and feelings.
• Persevere and persist until your needs are met.
• Analyze and prepare before taking action.
• Take pride in who you are and what you have achieved.
• Be courageous – use your skills to achieve your dream goals.

Note that with each point, there are caveats. Consider who you are dealing with, when you are making the demands, and how far you can push without damaging future relationships.

Don’ts

• Avoid sounding muddled, unsure, or lacking clarity.
• Don’t feel guilty for expressing feelings, beliefs, or needs.
• Make sure you’re not agreeing with others to maintain the status quo or in the face of peer pressure.
• Refuse to beg for what is legitimately yours.
• Don’t concede in the face of unexpected difficulties.
• Don’t allow yourself to be easily led or swayed by others.
• Don’t be afraid to dream.

Three-legged stool

Gerard Shaw (2020) describes assertiveness as a three-legged stool. When the stool has all three legs, it performs well. If one is missing, then you and it will fall.

During your workshop, discuss the three aspects of assertive behavior (modified from Shaw, 2020):

• Know what you want.
  Be clear with yourself and others about what you want and when.
• Say what you want.
  If you do not communicate what you want clearly, how will others know?
• Get what you want.
  Through clear communication, persistence, and determination, you are more likely to get what you need.

Discuss with the group what happens when you lose each ‘leg’ versus having all three.

Getting What You Want guidance

Use the Getting What You Want assertiveness guidance sheet to understand how to reframe your request assertively. These points can be explored during a workshop.

Top 7 Activities, Worksheets, & Exercises

There are plenty of activities that are helpful in understanding, identifying, and developing assertiveness in clients.

The following tools support some helpful techniques.

Assertive Formula

Andy Molinsky (2017) recommends a three-part formula to promote speaking up and being more assertive in everyday life and the workplace.

Use the Assertive Formula worksheet to create a clear and direct statement of the point you would like to make.

Challenging Assertiveness Interactions

When we are calm and rational, we often gain fresh insights into how we reacted and how we might do so differently in the future.

Use the Challenging Assertiveness Interactions worksheet to capture an event and categorize your response.

Assertiveness Review

Assertiveness, like many of our behaviors, can become a habit. It can be helpful to reflect on the situations we find ourselves in and how we would like to react in the future.

Use the Assertiveness Review worksheet to think about when and how you would like to be more assertive.

The answers offer insights into where you need to focus attention and work to become more assertive.

Typical Assertiveness Responses

We often respond to people with standard, sometimes unthinking, responses. It can feel as if acting differently would surprise them and feel uncomfortable for both parties.

Use the Typical Assertiveness Response worksheet to consider three people in your lives who may be surprised or even alarmed if you responded assertively.

Assertiveness Background

Our degree of assertiveness is shaped by our upbringing, environment, and relationships we have formed.

Use the Assertiveness Background worksheet to review what affects your degree of assertiveness in present-day situations.

Consider whether your upbringing or people in your life at present should impact whether or not you adopt an assertive outlook in the right situations.

Assertiveness Beliefs

Along with our relationships and our environment, beliefs can significantly impact our degree of assertiveness.

Use the Assertiveness Beliefs worksheet to understand the impact of your beliefs on how you respond to particular situations.

Restrictive beliefs may stop you from being assertive. However, you can weaken their grip by repeating a revised belief, such as, “I deserve to say how I feel and ask for what I want.”

Role-play exercise

Use the scenarios captured in the above worksheets to create role-play exercises in group or individual therapy and coaching sessions. Encourage clients to play both the person being assertive and the listener.

It can be helpful to change how the listener responds to the assertive client to allow the client to become better practiced at reacting to multiple situations.

Group Therapy: 2 Activities for Your Group Sessions

Group therapy is ideally suited to assertiveness skills training. It facilitates role-play and an open discussion of the difficulties of being assertive.

Group discussion of beliefs affecting assertiveness

Sharing thoughts and opinions on how beliefs affect our responses can help us understand why we react the way we do.

1. Discuss the following beliefs in a group discussion, asking for examples from the group members’ day-to-day lives (modified from Paterson, 2000):

• Typical beliefs we hold that support being passive:
  Assertiveness means always getting your way.
  Being assertive means being selfish.
  Being passive means I am more likely to be loved.
  I am only valuable when I am doing things for other people.
  It’s not polite to disagree.
  If others have a different view, then I must be wrong.
  My opinion doesn’t matter.
• Typical beliefs we hold that support being aggressive:
  If I’m not aggressive, I will get walked over.
  If I am not aggressive, nothing will get done.
  I’m entitled to be angry.
• Typical beliefs we hold that support being assertive:
  I should not have to ask; people should be more considerate.
  I am afraid of failing in my assertiveness.

2. Ask the group to think of other beliefs that influence being passive, aggressive, and supportive.

3. Which beliefs do you hold, and which could you replace them with that would be more healthy?

Assertiveness response checklist

Following from the last exercise, ask the group to review the next set of positive statements that encourage assertiveness (modified from Paterson, 2000):

• I am my own judge.
• I am not responsible for other people’s problems.
• Others are not responsible for solving my problems.
• I decide what I will and will not do.
• I don’t have to justify myself to others.
• Others don’t have to justify themselves to me.
• My life is my own, and I have the right to turn down requests.
• Mistakes don’t control our lives.
• I don’t know everything and don’t have to.
• I have the right to ask for emotional support or help.
• Others can offer advice, but I may not follow it.

Discuss with the group which statements you will repeat to yourself in future assertiveness situations.

Fostering Assertiveness in Kids: 3 Fun Games

Learning by playing games can help young children develop new skills and get a better understanding of their emotions and thought processes.

Mystery bag

Place unknown objects into a drawstring bag and ask children to take turns reaching in, feeling, and guessing what it could be.

Discuss how it can take courage to explore and try out new things. It is okay to be unsure of yourself, but that shouldn’t prevent you from trying something.

Role-play meeting people

Meeting new people can be difficult and sometimes makes children anxious. It can be fun for children to practice introducing themselves to their favorite teddy bear or a puppet.

After the activity, head to the playground or a friendly environment to safely practice what they have learned.

Practice sharing who you are

Ask the child to draw a self-portrait in the center of a piece of paper. Then ask them to add labels in various colors that describe what they like and what makes them feel good, including close friends’ and family members’ names.

Discuss how we are all different and the things that make us special and unique.

PositivePsychology.com’s Resources

Looking for more resources to help develop your clients’ assertive communication skills? Check out the following free worksheets from our blog:

• Rights of Assertiveness
  This list presents nine powerful assertiveness rules that clients can use to remind themselves of their rights in communication and relationships.
• Assertive Communication
  This two-part worksheet illustrates how assertive communication differs from passivity and aggressiveness and invites clients to reflect on instances and consequences of times when they used assertive communication.
• Assertiveness Obstacles
  This worksheet presents a series of potential obstacles clients may face that hamper their ability to be assertive and puts forward possible solutions.
• 17 Positive Communication Exercises
  If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others communicate better, this collection contains 17 validated positive communication tools for practitioners. Use them to help others improve their communication skills and form deeper and more positive relationships.

A Take-Home Message

Knowing that we can grow our assertiveness is good news. It is broadly accepted that, along with self-esteem and self-confidence, assertiveness is vital to life success and mental wellbeing, offering protection from damaging mental health conditions (Gray, 2015; Gallo, 2012).

We should begin by knowing we are in charge of our behavior, while others control theirs. If we decide to react angrily, we must recognize we risk damaging relationships. If we take a passive approach and let others walk over us, we are unlikely to meet our needs.

With appropriate assertiveness skills, we should be heard and our needs should be considered. We must then decide how we proceed if our request is refused.

Try out some of the techniques, tools, and worksheets in this article for yourself or with clients. Use them to become more aware of habitual behaviors and responses, and consider how you could handle things differently in the future.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Work & Career Coaching Exercises for free.