1. Behavior Therapy

2. View of Human Nature
People have the capacity to actually make changes in their environment
Increasing people’s freedom and skills allows them to have more options for responding to the environment
Change occurs by taking actions rather than only reflecting on the problems
People need to take responsibility for their own behavior

3. Therapeutic Goals Focus on what the client wants to do
Help clients accept responsibility for change
Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the goals
Reduce maladaptive behaviors and learn more adaptive behaviors
Client and therapist collaboratively decide on concrete, measurable, and objective treatment goals

4. Therapist’s function and Role
Be active and directive
Serve as an consultant, problem solver, or educator
Conduct a thorough functional assessment
formulate initial treatment goals, use strategies for behavior change, evaluate the success of the change, and conduct a follow-up assessment
Serve as a role model for the client
Focus on current problems

5. Client’s Experience in Therapy
To be taught concrete skills
To be motivated to change
To expand their adaptive behaviors
To implement new behaviors

6. Therapeutic Relationship
Therapeutic relationship still can contribute significantly to the process of behavior change
The client’s positive expectations for change contribute to successful outcomes
Common factors (warm, empathy, or acceptance) are necessary but not sufficient for behavior change to occur.
The progress is due to specific behavioral techniques instead of therapeutic relationship

7. Therapeutic techniques and procedures
Operant conditioning techniques
Positive reinforcement
A child gets a good grade and is praised by teachers.
Negative reinforcement
Escape from aversive (unpleasant) stimuli
Extinction
Withholding reinforcement from a previously reinforced response
Positive punishment
Spanking a child for misbehavior
Negative punishment
Taking TV time away from a child for misbehavior

8. Therapeutic techniques and procedures
Progressive Relaxation
Tense and relax muscle including face, neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, arms, and legs
Systematic Desensitization – Joseph Wolpe (1958)
1st step: Learn relaxation
2nd step: Make a list of anxiety hierarchies
3rd step: Imagine anxiety-evoking situation while being relaxed

9. Therapeutic techniques and procedures
Modeling
Observe another person’s behavior and make use of that observation
Live modeling
Symbolic modeling
Assertion Training
People have the right to express themselves
Identify irrational beliefs
Practice assertive behaviors

10. Therapeutic techniques and procedures
In Vivo therapies
Approach the actual fear-inducing situation or event gradually or directly
Imaginal Flooding therapies
Expose to the mental image of a frightening or anxiety-producing object or event
Experience the image of the event until the anxiety gradually reduces

11. Therapeutic techniques and procedures
Self-management strategies
Self-monitoring, self-reward, or self-instruction
Three phases integrating behavioral techniques with contemporary psychodynamic approach
Assessment and relationship-building
Insight—understand how early relational patterns are related to present difficulties
Behavioral techniques

12. Research on Behavior Therapy
In general, studies indicated that more improvement for behavioral therapy or CBT than for psychodynamic, client-centered, or control group.
Behavioral treatments are more effective than non-behavioral treatments regardless of the type of problem, client age, or therapist experiences.
A considerable research has been conducted behavioral therapy treatment of depression, anxiety, OCD, phobias, alcoholism, sexual dysfunction, panic attack, or other disorder.

13. Summary and Evaluation
Contributions
Use Empirical-Validated Treatment
In general, behavior therapy is more effective than no treatment
Limitations
Change behavior, but not feelings
Ignore relational factors
Ignore insight
Treat symptoms rather than causes
Control and manipulation by the therapist