Four Aspects of Behaviour Therapy
1) classical conditioning
2) operant conditioning
3) social learning approach
4) cognitive behavior therapy
classical conditioning
Pairing random stimulus with another one. Think of Pavlov.
social learning approach
learning through observation in a social setting.
The “3 C’s”
1) counterconditioning 2) contingency management 3) cognitive-behavior modification
Counterconditioning
- builds on Pavlov’s work
- systematic desensitization
- assertiveness training
Contingency management
- changes the contingiencies that follow and control behavior.
If you clean your room everyday, then you will get dessert at dinner.
Cognitive-behavior modification
- cognitive explanations/cognitive techniques
- cognitive restructuring, stress inoculation
focuses on changing negative self-talk to positive self-talk
Theory of Human Nature in Behaviorism
- the primacy of behavior: a concentration on overt behavior in particular
- the importance of learning - all behavior is learned both adaptive and maladaptive
- directive and active nature of treatments
- the importance of assessments
- learning can be an effective means of changing maladaptive behavior
- therapeutic goals are well-defined
- maladaptive behavior itself is seen as the problem that needs to be changed rather than underlying causes
- behaviorists stress the importance of obtaining empirical evidence and support for the techniques used.
Theory of Psychopathology - Behavioral
- anxiety is a response of the sympathetic nervous system
- anxiety is the cause of most behavioral disorders
- anxiety can be conditioned to any stimuli
- thoughts associated with threatening stimuli can elicit anxiety
Goals of behavioral therapy
- modify or eliminate maladaptive behaviors while helping them acquire healthy behaviors
- unproductive actions must be replaced with productive ways of responding
Therapeutic processes - Behavioral
- anxiety can be unlearned through counterconditioning
- do the opposite of the problem and the problem will disappear (reciprocal inhibition)
A-B-C Model
Antecedent - Behavior - Consequence
Therapeutic behavioral techniques
Relaxation training, assertion training, systematic desensitization, social skills training, modelling, self-management programs
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- developed as an outpatient treatment for BPD
- principles drawn from behavior and cognitive therapies w/ acceptance and mindfulness adopted from meditation practices
- 1-2 times/week, skills training in group setting
Points of departure between psychoanalytic therapy and behavior therapy
- focuses on behaviors, not on the essence of who you are
Limitations of behavior therapy
- takes out the emotional aspect of it
- shame cycle?
________ causes most behavioral disorders.
Anxiety
Two critical tasks comprise effective counterconditioning
1) find a response that is incompatible with anxiety (i.e., deep-muscle relaxation) and that can be paired with the stimuli to evoke anxiety. Do the healthy opposite of the problem.
2) begin with stimuli that is low on a generalization gradient.
Theory of Psychopathology - Contingency Management
- human behavior, whether adaptive or maladaptive, is largely controlled by its consequences.
- maladaptive responses likely to continue if followed by reinforcements. Less likely to continue if followed by punishments
Therapeutic Processes - Contingency Management
- control contingencies in order to shape the adaptive behavior and extinguish the maladaptive behavior
- who (institutional control, self-control, mutual control) and what (type of consequence being controlled) of contingency management
Theory of Psychopathology - Cognitive Behavioral
psychopathology is due to deficits, excesses, or inappropriateness in cognitions
Therapeutic Processes CBT
- increase client’s awareness by providing the necessary information
- biofeedback techniques
- 3 attributional styles of stability, internality, and globality
Therapeutic Relationship CBT
- validation, rather than person-centered empathy
- less concerned with accurate empathy, more concerned with accurate treatment
- must invoke modeling to the client
4 Principles of DBT
- Mindfulness
- Emotion regulation
- Distress tolerance
- Interpersonal effectiveness
