Behavioral Therapies - behavior therapy, systematic desensitization, social-skills training, cognitive-behavioral treatments, effectiveness

Behavioral Therapies definition:

application of the principles of learning & conditioning to direct efforts to change clients’ maladaptive behaviors

Behaviorists assume that behavior is…

a product of learning and that what has been learned can be unlearned

Systematic desensitization:

a treatment for phobias based on classical conditioning

Steps in systematic desensitization:

1. construction of an anxiety hierarchy

2. relaxation training

3. movement through the hierarchy pairing relaxation with each phobic stimulus

Exposure therapies definition:

when clients are confronted with situations they fear so they learn that the situations are harmless. Can also be done with virtual reality presentations.

Social Skills Training definition:

Therapy which improves clients’ interpersonal interactions through modeling, behavioral rehearsal and shaping

Modeling:

clients watch socially skilled friends acquire appropriate responses through observation

Behavioral rehearsal:

clients practice social techniques in role-playing exercises

Shaping:

clients gradually handle more complicated & delicate social situations

Cognitive-behavioral treatments definition:

combination of verbal interventions and behavior modification techniques to help clients change maladaptive patterns of thinking

Cognitive Therapy:

specific strategies to correct habitual thinking errors that underlie various disorders

Effectiveness of behavior therapies:

• Most research suggests that behavioral therapies are effective on a wide range of disorders, however they are not suited for some types of problems e.g. feelings of discontent.

• each behavior therapy procedures are designed for specific purposes and therefore cannot be generalised as effective for ALL disorders