Behavioural Therapy
Behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing maladaptive behaviors through techniques such as conditioning, reinforcement, and modeling. It is based on the principles of behaviorism and aims to address specific problems by modifying observable actions and reactions. This approach often involves setting goals, creating behavior plans, and using techniques like exposure therapy and systematic desensitization.
6 Key excerpts on "Behavioural Therapy"
eBook - ePub- Sue Cave(Author)
- 2002(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...4 Behavioural therapies General principles Behaviour therapies Behaviour modification techniques Applicability and evaluation General principles Formation of behaviour disorders Behavioural therapies are based on the assumption that mental disorders are maladaptive behaviours which have resulted from faulty learning. The case of Little Albert, given in Chapter 1, provides an example of the way that phobias may be learnt. The solution is therefore to unlearn the behaviours. Learning occurs through either association (classical conditioning) or through reinforcement (operant conditioning), and the therapies based on these are known as behaviour therapy and behaviour modification respectively. In both cases the focus is on the individual’s present symptoms, not the historical causes of the problem. Before we can explore the different types of therapy that have utilised these principles, it is essential to outline what is involved in the two types of conditioning. Note that in both cases what is being produced is learning, which can be defined as ‘a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience’. This definition excludes behaviours that are the result of physical changes, either temporary states such as those induced by drugs, or permanent states such as those resulting from accidents (e.g. amputations). Classical conditioning procedures have been derived from Pavlov’s studies of salivation in dogs in 1927. These showed that if a bell was rung just before food was presented, dogs would learn to salivate to the bell alone after a series of such trials. The reflex response of salivation had become associated with a new stimulus, i.e. the bell...
eBook - ePubCognitive Behavioural Therapy for Adolescents and Young Adults
An Emotion Regulation Approach
- Lawrence Howells(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Behavioural Therapy followed from this movement and provided a compelling alternative to the prevailing psychoanalytic view. Founded in scientific research, Behavioural Therapy quickly began to test its effectiveness and to build an evidence base. Behavioural Therapy (Wolpe, 1958) began with basic behavioural principles such as classical and operant conditioning, which maintain that stimuli in the environment can become associated with other stimuli (classical conditioning) or with the behaviour of individuals (operant conditioning). The theory is that this process can be manipulated to encourage or to remove associations. Early studies in Behavioural Therapy focused on the fear response and quickly demonstrated that approaches such as systematic desensitisation, the process of reducing associations between fear and environmental stimuli, were effective in reducing difficulties seen in anxiety disorders. Despite this success there was some discomfort in behaviourism’s notion that everything inside the head is unimportant, given that it is such an obvious and fundamental part of human existence. As a result, a cognitive revolution began in the late 1960s and early 1970s that incorporated the brain’s capacity for cognition, interpretation and evaluation of the world into the model, while still remaining grounded in the scientific discipline and holding on to the empiricism that had led to the rapid growth of Behavioural Therapy. While many thinkers of the time were involved in this process, the main proponent was Aaron Beck who developed a cognitive therapy treatment for depression (Beck et al., 1979). The core concept was that depression was caused and maintained by dysfunctional cognitions about the self, the world, and the future, and that therapy designed to target these cognitions would bring about a change in presentation...
eBook - ePubTheories of Counselling and Psychotherapy
An Introduction to the Different Approaches
- Stephen Joseph(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Bloomsbury Academic(Publisher)
...The therapist endeavours to describe the client’s maladaptive responses in objective terms and to generate hypotheses about the behavioural and environmental factors that are controlling and maintaining those behaviours. On the basis of the behavioural analysis, the therapist proceeds to design a treatment programme which will consist of manipulating the controlling and maintaining factors in such a way as to modify the maladaptive responses. In classical conditioning, as we have seen, behaviours are controlled by stimuli that come before the response, and in operant conditioning behaviours are controlled by stimuli which come after the response. Based on these theories, behaviourists have attempted to explain a variety of psychological problems. A classic example of behaviour therapy is that used by Mowrer and Mowrer (1938) to treat children with bed-wetting problems. Using the principles of classical conditioning, Mowrer and Mowrer developed the ‘bell and pad’ method to treat nocturnal enuresis. It was hypothesized that nocturnal enuresis resulted from the child not associating a full bladder with waking up, so Mowrer and Mowrer developed a moisture sensitive blanket which triggered an alarm bell when urination took place. Thus, over time, the child came to associate having a full bladder with waking up. As we will see, however, behaviour therapies seem most applicable to anxiety-related problems. First, let us look at some of the specific therapeutic techniques which have been developed on the basis of learning theory, notably, systematic desensitization, flooding, aversion, and modelling. These techniques are based on the principle of classical conditioning...
- Amy E. Wenzel(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Behavior therapy often involves the training of family members or significant others in the client’s environment. This is advantageous in that significant others may contribute to the problem or play a role in the maintenance of the target behavior. Present Focus Behavior therapy focuses on changing things that the client can control. These are modifiable behaviors that affect the client’s life today rather than focusing on resolving issues that are intrapsychic in nature or behaviors that depend on others. Self-Control Behavior therapists teach clients to decide, conduct, and evaluate their own treatment. Learning Focus Learning focus relates to the theory underlying behavior therapy—that all behaviors are developed, maintained, and changed by learning principles. Maladaptive behaviors (like adaptive responses) are acquired through the process of learning and, thus, can be modified. Behavioral Assessment As previously mentioned, behavior therapy refers broadly to any therapeutic practice in which the focus is more on the behavior itself and less on any presumed underlying cause. Context matters to the behavior therapist, and assessment often focuses on understanding these pieces of the puzzle (behavior and context). Behavioral assessment tends to be present focused rather than past oriented. The focus is on the here and now, which emphasizes the target behavior’s impact on current daily functioning. Behavioral assessment, like most other forms of psychotherapy, begins with an initial interview. This interview involves rapport building, identification and elaboration of the presenting problem or target behavior (when it occurs, what factors maintain it, how it affects functioning), setting of initial treatment goals, delineation of other current problem areas, assessing of client strengths, and gathering of necessary background information. An assessment of possible barriers to treatment should also be conducted...
eBook - ePubPerspectives on Behaviour
A Practical Guide to Effective Interventions for Teachers
- Harry Ayers, Don Clarke, Anne Murray(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- David Fulton Publishers(Publisher)
...across different students. The intervention is used first with one student then with the others in succession. If the intervention is responsible for behavioural improvement then one would expect to see change in each student's behaviour following immediately on the intervention. The behavioural approach to teaching and learning This approach advocated by Wheldall et al. (1986) is outlined below. Basic assumptions It is a structured approach that leads to appropriate practice. This approach has been found to be effective empirically in many different institutional, interpersonal and personal contexts. Most behaviour is learned within the limits set by genetics and is the result of an interaction between the individual and their environment. Behaviour is shaped through reinforcing events. Behaviour is relative to what is considered adaptive or maladaptive in a given social or cultural context. Many emotional and behavioural problems are the result of faulty learning or failure to learn, i.e. they arise through the processes of classical and operant conditioning. Cognitive and unconscious processes are not included in this approach except in the case of the cognitive-behavioural perspective where consideration of cognitive processes is integrated with the behavioural approach. This approach is seen as desirable in terms of it being easy to learn, easy to implement and amenable to empirical evaluation. Techniques This approach refers to the application of behavioural techniques to teaching and refers to the theory that behaviour is primarily the result of learning but that what is learnt can be changed. Behavioural change can be achieved by controlling the consequences of that behaviour. The main teaching points are: Teachers should direct their attention to their students' observable behaviour in the classroom and overt and observable factors that influence that behaviour...
eBook - ePub- Fay Short, Phil Thomas(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Behaviour therapy will be explored as one example of a therapeutic method under the behavioural approach. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this chapter, you will be able to: • describe the development of the first force in psychology: the behavioural approach • acknowledge the relative impact of Ivan Pavlov, John Broadus Watson and Burrhus Frederic Skinner on the development of the behavioural approach • discuss the core theories of human nature and personality from the behavioural perspective • discuss the nature of the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client in behaviour therapy • outline the main therapeutic techniques utilised in behaviour therapy • appreciate the application of behaviour therapy in a real-world setting DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH LEARNING OUTCOMES After reading this section, you will be able to: • list the three main forces in psychology • discuss the development of the behavioural approach in a historical context • acknowledge the main contributors to the development of the behavioural approach First force in psychology Three forces in psychology Behavioural theory Psychodynamic theory Humanistic theory Behavioural psychology is the ‘first force’ Psychology was initially defined as the study of the...
