LESSON 7- BEHAVIOR THERAPHY (ITGC)

• Behavior therapy


  A type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing maladaptive behaviors through the use of various techniques
• Behavior therapy


  • Focuses on current behavior rather than historical antecedents
  • Emphasizes precise treatment goals
  • Uses diverse therapeutic strategies tailored to these goals
  • Involves objective evaluation of therapeutic outcomes
  • Focuses on behavior change in the present
  • Uses action programs
  • Concepts and procedures are stated explicitly, tested empirically, and revised continually
• Unlearning


  Gradually learning to stop a behavior that was previously learned, such as smoking
• Key figures/proponents of behavior therapy

  • B.F. Skinner (ABA/Behavioral Engineering)
  • Joseph Wolpe (SD)
  • Arnold Lazarus (MMT)
  • Albert Bandura (Shaping)
• Philosophy and basic assumptions of behavior therapy

  • Behavior is the product of learning
  • We are both the product and the producer of our environment
  • No set of unifying assumptions about behavior can incorporate all the existing procedures in the behavioral field
  • Due to the diversity of views and strategies, it is more accurate to think of behavioral therapies rather than a unified approach
  • Contemporary behavior therapies encompass a variety of conceptualizations, research methods, and treatment procedures to explain and change behavior
• Central characteristics of behavior therapy

  • Focus on observable behavior
  • Focus on current determinants of behavior
  • Use of learning experiences to promote change
  • Rigorous assessment and evaluation
• Therapeutic relationship in behavior therapy

  • The skilled therapist can conceptualize problems behaviorally and make use of the therapeutic relationship in bringing about change
  • The therapist's role is primarily to explore alternative courses of action and their possible consequences
  • Part of the therapist's job is to teach concrete skills through the provision of instructions, modeling, and performance feedback
  • Therapists tend to be active and directive and function as consultants and problem solvers
  • Clients must also be actively involved in the therapeutic process from beginning to end, and they are expected to cooperate in carrying out therapeutic activities, both in the sessions and outside of therapy
• Techniques and procedures used in behavior therapy

  • Relaxation techniques
  • Exposure/systematic desensitization
  • Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Multimodal therapy
• Relaxation training


  1. Sending physical messages to the central nervous system, effectively telling the brain that there is no danger, and everything is alright

  2. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

  3. Diaphragmatic breathing

  4. Parasympathetic breathing
• Exposure/systematic desensitization


  1. Gradually exposed to an anxiety-producing stimulus

  2. Helps alter reaction to triggers/cognitive allergens

  3. Create safety and empowerment

  4. Mitigate the stress response

  5. Become less sensitive to a particular trigger
• Steps in exposure/systematic desensitization

  1. Muscle relaxation technique

  2. Identify and learn fact-based information about the trigger

  3. Anxiety hierarchies - clients list from least anxiety evoking to most anxiety evoking

  4. Gradual exposure/desensitization with therapist/counselor
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)


  1. History taking (life events and trauma history)

  2. Identify negative thoughts, desired positive beliefs, and feelings about the experience

  3. Move eyes following therapist's fingers while processing the questions

  4. Therapists process and re-alignment of thought/Replacing the unhelpful beliefs

  5. Drafting treatment goals/step-by-step program for 3 months

  6. Develop positive and realistic beliefs
• Multimodal therapy (MMT)


  • A holistic approach to psychotherapy, usually involving several therapeutic techniques or approaches at once
  • Focuses on treating the whole person rather than just specific symptoms
  • The modalities are referred to with the acronym BASIC ID: Behavior, Affect, Sensation, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal Relationships, Drugs/Biology
• Problem areas where behavior therapy is effective

  • Phobic disorders
  • Social fears
  • Depression
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Sexual disorders
  • Substance abuse
  • Eating disorders
  • Pain management
  • Trauma
  • Hypertension
  • Children's disorders
  • Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease
• Behavior therapy has wide applicability beyond clinical practice, including geriatrics, pediatrics, stress management, self-management, sports psychology, rehabilitation, behavioral medicine, business and management, gerontology, and education
• Contributions of behavior therapy


  • Short-term approach with wide applicability
  • Providing accountability
  • Evidence-based practice and manualized treatments, which fit well with managed care mental health programs
  • Specific problems are identified and explored, and clients are kept informed about the therapeutic process and about what gains are being made
  • Clients receive feedback on how they are experiencing the therapeutic process
  • The effectiveness of this approach has been researched with different populations and in many areas of human functioning
  • The concepts and procedures are easily grasped
  • The therapist is an explicit reinforcer, consultant, model, teacher, and expert in behavioral change
  • The approach has undergone significant development and expansion over the past two decades, including the integration of mindfulness and acceptance approaches
• Limitations of behavior therapy include the danger of imposing conforming behavior, therapists manipulating clients toward ends they have not chosen, and not addressing broader human problems such as meaning, the search for values, and identity issues