behavior therapy

Examples of behavior therapy in the following topics:

• Classical Conditioning in Behavioral Therapy

• Operant Conditioning in Behavioral Therapy

• Behavioral Therapies

• Behavior Therapy and Applied Behavioral Analysis

  • Behavior therapy is based on the idea that maladaptive behavior is learned, and thus adaptive behavior can also be learned.
  • Behavior therapy is a treatment approach that is based on the idea that abnormal behavior is learned.
  • Exposure therapy was first reported in 1924 by Mary Cover Jones, who is considered the mother of behavior therapy.
  • In the second half of the 20th century, many therapists coupled behavior therapy with the cognitive therapy of Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, forming cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
  • Discuss the goals, techniques, and efficacy of behavior therapy and applied behavior analysis

• Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies

  • Cognitive therapy (CT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are closely related; however CBT is an umbrella category of therapies that includes cognitive therapy.
  • The category refers to behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and therapies based on a combination of basic behavioral and cognitive principles and research, including dialectical behavior therapy.
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) works to solve current problems and change unhelpful thinking and behavior.
  • At its most basic level, it is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy.
  • During the 1980s and 1990s, cognitive and behavioral techniques were merged into cognitive-behavioral therapy.

• Evaluation of Psychological Therapy Options

  • Therapy falls into two general categories: individual and group therapy.
  • Forms of therapy include, but are not limited to: psychoanalytic, gestalt, existential, person-centered, reality, Adlerian, transactional analysis, rational-emotive behavior, and behavior therapies.
  • One criticism of reality therapy is that it discounts past or traumatic experiences as influences of current behaviors.
  • Adlerian therapy was founded by Alfred Adler, who believed in social determinants for behavior such as the influence of the past and social relations.
  • Behavior therapy focuses on behavior and uses the scientific method as a means of approaching maladaptive behaviors.

• Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic Therapy

  • One such approach is psychodynamic therapy, which studies the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions, as well as how they may relate to early childhood experience.
  • Psychodynamic theory emphasizes the systematic study of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior.
  • In the treatment of psychological distress, psychodynamic therapies target the client's inner conflict, from where repressed behaviors and emotions surface into the patient's consciousness.
  • In 2013, the world's largest randomized controlled trial on therapy with anorexia outpatients, the ANTOP study, proved modified psychodynamic therapy to be more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in the long term.
  • A French 2004 report from INSERM said that psychodynamic therapy is less effective than other psychotherapies (including cognitive behavioral therapy) for certain diseases.

• Other Approaches to Therapy

  • Expressive therapy, also known as expressive arts therapy and creative arts therapy, is the use of the creative arts as a form of therapy.
  • Transgenerational therapy: dealing with transgenerational transmission of unhelpful patterns of belief and behavior.
  • There was initially a strong influence from psychoanalysis (most of the early founders of the field had psychoanalytic backgrounds) and social psychiatry, and later from learning theory and behavior therapy.
  • According to a 2004 French government study, family and couples therapy was the second most effective therapy after cognitive-behavioral therapy.
  • Using this method, families can be helped by finding patterns of behavior, what the causes are, and what can be done to better their situation.

• Group Therapy

  • While group therapy is sometimes used alone, it is more often used as part of a greater treatment plan that may include one-on-one therapy and/or medication.
  • Group therapy can be based on any theoretical approach, from cognitive-behavioral to humanistic.
  • These principles summarize the benefits of group therapy:
  • Existential factors: Group therapy helps members realize that they are responsible for their own lives, behaviors, and decisions.
  • Imitative behavior: One way in which group members can develop social skills is through a modeling process, observing and imitating the therapist and other group members.

• Humanistic Therapy

  • It encourages viewing ourselves as a "whole person" greater than the sum of our parts and encourages self exploration rather than the study of behavior in other people.
  • Humanistic theory sees each individual's personality as being composed of physical, intellectual, emotional, behavioral, creative, and spiritual elements.
  • In humanistic therapy, there are two widely practiced techniques: gestalt therapy and client-centered therapy.
  • Previous theories are thought to spend an unnecessary amount of time making assumptions about what causes behavior.
  • Skinner's behaviorism.