Behavior therapy, or behavior therapy (behavior modification) is an approach to psychotherapy based on learning theory which aims to treat psychopathology through techniques designed to reinforce desired and eliminate undesired behaviors. History Precursors of certain fundamental aspects of behavior therapy have been identified in various ancient philosophical traditions, particularly Stoicism. For example, Wolpe and
Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy used in the field of psychology to help effectively overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders. More specifically, it is a type of Pavlovian therapy / classical conditioning therapy developed by a South African psychiatrist, Joseph Wolpe. To begin the process of systematic desensitization, one must first be
Immersion therapy is a psychological technique which allows a patient to overcome fears (phobias). First a fear-hierarchy is created: the patient is asked a series of questions to determine the level of discomfort the fear causes in various conditions. Can the patient talk about the object of his/her fear, can the patient tolerate a picture
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy intended to treat anxiety disorders and involves the exposure to the feared object or context without any danger in order to overcome their anxiety. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction paradigm in rodent work. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a treatment method available from behavioral psychologists and cognitive-behavioral therapists for a variety of anxiety disorders, especially Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It is an example of an Exposure Therapy. The method is predicated on the idea that a therapeutic effect is achieved as subjects confront their fears and discontinue their
Behavior modification is the use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior, such as altering an individual’s behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the reduction of maladaptive behavior through its extinction, punishment and/or therapy. Description The first use of the term behavior modification appears
Covert conditioning is an approach to mental health treatment that uses the principles of behavior modification, which emerged from the applied behavior analysis literature to assist people in making improvements in their behavior or inner experience. The method relies on the person’s capacity to use imagery for purposes such as mental rehearsal. In some populations
Flooding is a form of behavior therapy and based on the principles of respondent conditioning. It is sometimes referred to as exposure therapy or prolonged exposure therapy. As a psychotherapeutic technique, it is used to treat phobia and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder. It works by exposing the patient to their painful memories, with
Contingency management is a type of treatment used in the mental health or substance abuse fields. Patients are rewarded (or, less often, punished) for their behavior; generally, adherence to or failure to adhere to program rules and regulations or their treatment plan. For children with conduct disorder, token systems are highly successful but do not
A token economy is a system of behavior modification based on the systematic positive reinforcement of target behavior. The reinforcers are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers. Token economy is based on the principles of operant conditioning and can be situated within the applied behavior analysis (behaviorism). Token economies are applied
Habit reversal training (HRT) is a “multicomponent behavioral treatment package originally developed to address a wide variety of repetitive behavior disorders”. Behavioral disorders treated with HRT include tics, trichotillomania, nail biting, thumb sucking, and skin picking. It consists of five components: awareness training, competing response training, contingency management, relaxation training, and generalization training. For
Aversion therapy is a form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort. This conditioning is intended to cause the patient to associate the stimulus with unpleasant sensations in order to stop the specific behavior. Aversion therapies can take many forms, for
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a scientific discipline concerned with developing techniques based on the principles of learning and applying these to change behavior of social significance. It is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two forms are radical behaviorism (or the philosophy of the science) and the experimental analysis of behavior (or
Behavior management is similar to behavior modification. It is a less intensive version of behavior therapy. In behavior modification the focus is on changing behavior, while in behavior management the focus is on maintaining order. Behavior management skills are of particular importance to teachers in the educational system. Behavior management is all of the actions
Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is an approach to clinical psychotherapy that uses a radical behaviorist position informed by B.F. Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior. Although sufficient for use alone, this approach is offered as something that may be practiced in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). FAP focuses on in-session client–therapist interactions as the basis
Behavioral psychotherapy is one of two streams of thought (the other being cognitive psychotherapy) that have come together to produce cognitive behavioral therapy. Behavioral psychotherapy has a rich tradition in research and practice. From a purely behavioral perspective, behavior therapy has shown considerable success with clients from a variety of problems. Traditional behavior therapy draws
Acceptance and commitment therapy or ACT (typically pronounced as a word, not as separate initials) is a cognitive–behavioral model of psychotherapy. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies mixed in different ways with commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. The approach was originally called comprehensive distancing. It was
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a system of therapy originally developed by Marsha M. Linehan, a psychology researcher at the University of Washington, to treat people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) . DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness largely derived from Buddhist
Behavioral activation is a third generation behavior therapy for treating depression. It is one of many functional analytic psychotherapies which are based on a Skinnerian psychological model of behavior change, generally referred to as applied behavior analysis. This area is also a part of what is called clinical behavior analysis (CBA) (see behavior therapy) and
The Nobel Winner physiologist Pavlov has developed a method of a combination of a conditioned reflex with unconditional, that caused strong hormonal changes in an organism. The certain sound in an open-air cage for dogs, was accompanied by their feeding. After numerous recurrences, all physiological effects of feeding accompanied reproduction only one sound: allocation of
The professional practice of behavior analysis is one domain of behavior analysis: others being behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis. The professional practice of behavior analysis is the delivery of interventions to consumers that are guided by the principles of behaviorism and the research of both the experimental analysis of behavior and
Functional analysis in behavioral psychology is the application of the laws of operant conditioning to establish the relationships between stimuli and responses. To establish the function of a behavior, one typically examines the “three-term contingency”: identifying the antecedent or trigger of the behavior, identifying the behavior itself as it has been operationalized, and identifying the
Cognitive therapy (CT) is a type of psychotherapy developed by American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck. CT is one of the therapeutic approaches within the larger group of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) and was first expounded by Beck in the 1960s. Overview Cognitive therapy seeks to help the patient overcome difficulties by identifying and changing
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach: a talking therapy. CBT aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure in the present. The title is used in diverse ways to designate behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and to refer to therapy based upon a combination of basic behavioral