Behavioral therapies and their effectiveness Behavioral therapy is a treatment that helps change self destructing behaviors. It also involves changing the behavior to reduce the dysfunction and to improve the quality of life. Medical professionals use this type of therapy to replace bad habits with good ones. The therapy can also help you cope with difficult situations. Behavior therapy has a wide range of techniques that can be used to treat a person. Behavior therapy breaks down into three disciplines, which are; applied behavior analysis, cognitive behavior therapy, and social learning theory. Applied behavior analysis focuses on operant conditioning, and cognitive behavior therapy focuses on thoughts and feelings. The principles of …show more content…
behavior therapy are based on the early studies of Classical conditioning of Pavlov and operant conditioning by Skinner. Classical conditioning is the learning of involuntary responses by pairing a stimulus that normally causes a particular response with a new, neutral stimulus after enough pairings. The new stimulus will also cause the response to occur. Through classical conditioning the old and the undesirable responses can be replaced by the desirable ones. Operant conditioning has to do with rewards and punishments. There seems to have been some confusion on how these two conditioning’s differ. An important feature of behavioral therapy is that is focuses on current problems and behavior. On attempts to remove behavior the client finds troublesome. This contrasts with psycho-dynamic therapy, where the focus is much more on trying to uncover unresolved conflicts from childhood (McLeod, 2010). Examples of behavioral therapy include; Aversion therapy, systematic desensitization, and flooding. Systematic desensitization is a behavioral therapy technique where a person overcomes anxiety elicited by a situation or an object by approaching the feared situation gradually. Desensitization is also applied if a person is dealing with anger and if the person has trouble sleeping. Desensitization is a process of treatment and does not occur over night. Aversion therapy is used when there are stimulus situations and associated behavior patterns that are attractive to the client. This technique has also been used to treat sexual deviations and alcoholism. Flooding works by exposing the patient directly to their worst fears. Flooding can be dangerous if you are not careful, and it is rarely used. In general, flooding is as effective or more than systematic desensitization. Therapy involves talking with a trained professional about things such as symptoms, problems, and understanding one's self.
Therapists help clients in many different ways. They help clients make positive changes by discussing their past behavior, they help clients discover why they think certain thoughts and how these thoughts affect their feelings. Therapists also help clients to identify and fix problems with relationships, they empathize with clients and help them to understand why they behave they way they do, and they help clients cope with their illnesses. Therapists also use techniques such as role playing, breathing and relaxation methods, journal writing, and social skills training. Sometimes a therapist may ask clients to think about situations that scare them. The goal is not to frighten them but to help them develop coping skills. There are benefits to behavioral therapy. Specific benefits vary depending on what condition is being treated. These can include; reduced incidents of self-harm, better pain management, less outbursts, improved social skills and emotional expressions, better functioning in unfamiliar situations, and the ability to recognize the need for medical help (Healthline, …show more content…
2005). The goal of behavioral therapy is to limit self harm. There are minimal risks for this treatment. Some clients consider the emotional aspects of the sessions risky. When you explore your feelings and anxieties it can cause bursts of crying and anger. The emotional aftermath of therapy can be physically exhausting and painful. However, a therapist can help to improve coping mechanisms and to minimize any side effects from therapy. Preparing for behavioral therapy can be challenging. Generally, a primary care physician or a neurologist will refer the client to a doctor who specializes in behavioral therapy. It is important that the client and doctor get along well because therapy sessions are frequent. It is best if clients request a consultation before beginning treatment. Therapy sessions can become a financial burden. Some insurance providers cover therapy but others may only cover a portion or only approve a certain number of sessions/visits per year. In preparing for behavioral therapy, therapists complete a functional analysis that look at four important areas. The areas are stimulus, organism, response, and consequences. The stimulus is the environmental trigger or condition that causes the behavior. The organism involves the internal responses of a person. A response pertains to the behavior that a person exhibits. The consequences are the result of the behavior. These four things are incorporated into the assessment done by the therapist. Behavioral assessment attempts to find out what the self-imposed and environmental variables are. These variables are what allows a person to maintain their thoughts, behaviors, and maladaptive feelings. Many have argued that behavioral therapy is at least as effective as drug treatment for OCD, ADHD, and depression.
Although, two large studies performed by the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University indicates that both behavioral therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy are equally effective for OCD. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been proven to perform better at treating co-occurring depression (Bechdolf A, Knost B, Kuntermann C, 2004). In conclusion, Behavioral therapy is not a cure for any condition. It is a method of teaching to help people cope with everyday life. A person may only need it on a short term basis, depending on the individual needs. The length of a treatment plan depends on the individual 's progress and goals (Cherney, 2013). However, the most important thing to do is continue taking any medications as prescribed. Research shows that learned techniques in therapy may gradually reduce the need for medicine. Again, each individual is
different. I would have to say that before doing this research on behavioral therapies and their effectiveness, I thought I was well informed on this topic. However, you can never know too much. I have definitely learned a great deal of information doing this research. I never thought there were so many different types of therapy. If you mentioned therapy to me the first thing that pops out is sitting down and opening up to a therapist. I know there is a lot more to it but generally that was my main thought. However, I did learn that therapy entails a lot more than that. I will definitely apply what I have learned on this topic in my personal life as well as in my work life. I have a son that has bipolar disorder, depression, and ADHD. I have gone through all types of testing as well as therapy for him. It is by far a very difficult situation to be in. The toughest thing with him was actually getting him to open up to his therapist. Another difficult task was getting him to take his medications faithfully. I believe if he would of stuck to his therapy sessions and took his medications as prescribed he would have been doing much better today. Instead, we are still in the struggle of trying to get him on the right path with his behavioral issues. I also work with children with developmental disabilities. Behavioral issues being one of the issues I deal with on a daily basis when working with these children. Therefore, this research has not only given me more knowledge but also has helped me to be able to apply what I have learned to both my personal life as well as my work life.
These techniques include showing concern for clients through active listening and empathy, showing respect for and confidence in clients, focusing on client’s strong points and positive traits, resources, replacing discouraging thoughts with encouraging ones, and helping clients to develop a sense of humor about life. (Watts & Pietrzak,2000,p 443) Another method, as mentioned earlier is building a strong rapport with the client. Therapists use a variety of techniques to facilitate change in the client’s behavior. Therapists help clients to choose alternative behaviors to the behaviors that are maladaptive. The next method is getting the client to change how he or she views a situation. This is done inside and outside of counseling. Through this technique a client comes to realize their abilities and strengths. Last but not least, therapists help clients draw on their resources and strengths when faced with a situation that seems troublesome. (Watts & Pietrzak,2000,p
One of the points they stress is how behavioral therapy can be a solution, but it is less effective and has it’s limitations. Despite it being less reliable, there are reasons why professionals and parents decide to give it a try. One of these is that parents and professionals don’t want to give their child medication. Another is that medication isn’t enough to curb their child’s symptoms. Lastly, their child has had reactions to the medication they’ve been given previously. In addition to those reasons, behavioral therapy has it’s limitations. It isn’t able to account for every setting the child will be in. Behavioral therapy isn’t able to reduce all of the core characteristics that come with having ADHD (short-attention span, impulsivity, hyperactivity). It also isn’t able to advance at the same rate that behavioral-altering medication can (“Identifying and Treating Attention Deficit
... By scheduling an activity that the client can participate in and complete, it can give them a sense of mastery in a specific task. This can be beneficial for the client to feel accomplished. Another technique that I feel can be beneficial in therapy is role-playing. Role-playing can be helpful for a client to learn how to dispute irrational beliefs by becoming aware of negative feelings towards theses beliefs (Tan, 2011). In addition, role-playing can help the client to overcome their emotions and practice coping skills that are more effective. The last technique I would incorporate into therapy would be relaxation training. I would suggest ways that can help the client relax including, deep breathing, meditation, yoga, a massage or exercising. By getting the client to have methods to relax, I think it can help with managing their thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
Case conceptualization and treatment planning ultimately assist therapist in finding methods of therapy that will work in relations to the client’s needs. Behavior Therapy is one therapeutic approach; that is defined as a treatment that helps improve self-destructing behaviors; desired or undesired that is to be removed or added. It additionally is used to interchange dangerous habits with smart ones. It helps the client to deal with tough situations.
...D is a clinical challenge” (Singh et al. 883). OCD is similar to ID because they are both difficult to treat. The article states that there are no chemical medications to treat OCD. Behavioral therapy is the way they try to treat it (Singh et al. 883). Behavioral therapy for OCD uses desensitization which is having the patient face their fears.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment developed by Marsha M. Linehan for the treatment of complex, difficult-to-treat mental disorders. Originally, DBT was developed to treat individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD; Carson-Wong, Rizvi, & Steffel, 2013; Scheel, 2000). However, DBT has evolved into a treatment for multi-disordered individuals with BPD. In addition, DBT has been adapted for the treatment of other behavioral disorders involving emotional dysregulation, for example, substance abuse, binge eating, and for settings, such as inpatient and partial hospitalization. Dimeff and Linehan (2001) described five functions involved in comprehensive DBT treatment. The first function DBT serves is enhancing behavioral capabilities. Secondly, it improves motivation to change by modifying inhibitions and reinforcement. Third, it assures that new capabilities can be generalize to the natural environment. Fourth, DBT structures the treatment environment in the ways essential to support client and therapist capabilities. Finally, DBT enhances therapist capabilities and motivation to treat clients effectively. In standard DBT, these functions are divided into modes for treatment (Dimeff & Linehan, Dialectical behavior therapy in a nutshell, 2001).
Cognitive behavior therapy has been proven to work in many different areas and presenting problems. One area that was not mention above that would significantly improve the outcome of any given therapy is the willingness of the client to accept treatment. The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to focus on the present and to help the client identify their own strengths, learn new tools or techniques that they can use on their everyday life, and to be able to identify the different thought, emotional, and behavioral patterns that lead to undesirable
The field of psychology is a discipline, originated from many branches of science. It has applications from within a complete scope of avenues, from psychotherapy to professional decision-making. The flexibility and versatility of this field reflects its importance and demands in-depth analysis. Psychology was a division of philosophy until it developed independent scientific disciplines. The history of psychology was a scholarly study of the mind and behavior that dates back to the beginning of civilization. There are important details from previous theory psychologist, research have contributed to behaviorism approaches and have contributed towards specific current behavioral practices. Contemporary behavior therapy began to emerge into distinct practical and core learning theories concerning the needs and knowledge engaging cultural and professional differences.
According to the therapists, the condition is applicable in many areas, including psychological and emotional fields.... ... middle of paper ... ... Within these factors, the therapy is essential in ensuring that different problems are addressed using personalized ideas. Works Cited Bandura, A 1999, Principles of behavior modification, Rinehart & Winston, New York.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of treatment to “help people see the relationship between beliefs, thoughts, and feelings, and subsequent behavior patterns and actions.” This therapy works by finding ways of helping a person understand what their perception is and how this might impact their well-being. Instead, they look at how they feel and act rather than them thinking it is based on what they do. This is done by “adjusting our thoughts, we can directly influence our emotions and behavior” (Good Therapy, 2017). With this in mind, understanding the person’s thought process can determine what can be causing the individual to feel a way. Furthermore, this therapy will “help unclear negative reactions and learn new, positive emotional
Cognitive behavioral therapy earliest inventors were behaviorist, such as Skinner, Watson, and Pavlov. They’re the ones who led to the advancement for behavioral treatment of mental disorders. Behavioral modification is a technique that uses positive and negative reinforcements to change a particular behavior and reaction to a stimulus. Behavioral therapist only focused on an individual’s behavior not their thoughts. During this era, psychologists applied B.F. Skinner’s radical behaviorism to clinical work. Much of these studies focused on chronic psychiatric disorders, such as autism and psychotic behavior. His methods also focus...
While CBT has many advantages, it alone does not encompass all of the concepts I believe are necessary to tackles a client’s needs. Therefore, I draw upon concepts from various theories to obtain a better idea of what we are working towards. Pulling from Reality therapy, a key concept I utilize is focusing on what the client is doing and how to get them to evaluate whether they’re present actions are working for them. CBT does use some form of this is the sense that one must examine and establish their cognitive misconceptions; however, I prefer to pull from Reality therapy because CBT tends to do so by focusing on the past. I am a firm believer that while the past can shape who you are, it does very little good to remain focused on it. Focusing on overt behavior, precision in specifying goals of treatment, development of specific treatment plans, and objective evaluation of therapy outcomes all come from Behavior therapy (Corey, 2013, p. 474). Behavior therapy is highly structured much like that of CBT. I utilize this aspect of Behavior therapy because high level of structure enables me to closely observe where a client is currently and where they are headed. Lastly, I pull from Person-Centered therapy as the final key concept of my counseling approach. PCT focuses on the fact that client’s have the potential to become aware of their problems and resolve them. This Person-Centered therapy concept has overlap with
Behavior modification, or behavioral therapy, trains individuals to replace undesirable behaviors with healthier behavioral patterns.
Furthermore, my goal is to let client fix their problems on their own through insight and guidance from the therapist. I envision a successful therapeutic process being when a client follows their goals and achieves positive outcomes in their lives. I seek to gain a therapeutic process with my clients by building rapport, trust, and helping them gain insight. When my clients are stuck and need motivation, I plan to remind them about their goals and the positive things that will come with change. If family is important to a client, informing the client about their family and their happiness may help motivate them to continue to
In a closer view of some these distinguished therapy techniques described by Shelder (2010), we can infer that the established patterns in behaviors,