How SSLD was developed?
Dr. Tsang first started using social skills training procedures in the 1970s when he was working as a clinical psychologist in Hong Kong. He initially worked with adult clients with mental health issues ranging from schizophrenic disorder to social phobia and inadequate interpersonal skills. The positive experience encouraged his subsequent application of the model to other client groups such as children with autism, couples with sexual and relationship problems, young people with substance abuse or addiction issues, and so on. During the 1980s, through his own direct practice, training, and consultation work, the social skills training method (e.g. Michael Argyle and Robert Lieberman) was applied to an increasing range of situations, including social work in schools, outreaching work with marginalized and/or street youth, community organizations and activism.
After coming to Canada in 1989, Dr. Tsang has continued to use the model in a wide range of practice situations in mental health, family service, executive training, organization development, and community work. Colleagues in psychiatry, clinical psychology, social work, other healthcare professions, as well as human resource professionals, trainers and consultants have showed interest in the model. Numerous workshops and training programs as well as consultation sessions have been delivered both in Canada and internationally. As his experience accumulated, Dr. Tsang made many adaptations and modifications to the original social skills model. In 2005, after reviewing the extensive practice experience and the development of the procedures over the years, he noticed distinct features in the way he practiced and how he conceptualized his work. He then decided to refer to this practice procedure by a different name, and came up with Strategies and Skills Learning and Development (SSLD). Recent applications of the SSLD model include group intervention for social phobia, parent-child play, cross-cultural communication, and a program for insomnia and sleeping issues.
Currently, SSLD is used by a wide range of practitioners in mental health, psychology, and human service settings in Canada and Asia.