Assignment of Behavior Therapy

1. Briefly discuss the background of Behavioral Therapy.

Behaviour therapy is a term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived
from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and
how the environment, or other people's mental states, influences those behaviours, and
consists of techniques based on behaviorism's theory of learning.The behavioural approach
to therapy assumes that behaviour that is associated with psychological problems develops
through the same processes of learning that affects the development of other behaviours.
Therefore, behaviourists see personality problems in the way that personality was
developed. They do not look at behaviour disorders as something a person has, but consider
that it reflects how learning has influenced certain people to behave in a certain way in
certain situations. Behaviour therapy is based upon the principles of classical
conditioning developed by Ivan Pavlov and operant conditioning developed by B.F. Skinner.
Classical conditioning happens when a neutral stimulus comes right before another stimulus
that triggers a reflexive response. The idea is that if the neutral stimulus and whatever other
stimulus that triggers a response is paired together often enough that the neutral stimulus
will produce the reflexive response. Operant conditioning has to do with rewards and
punishments and how they can either increase or decrease certain behaviours.
in the second half of the 20th century, many therapists coupled behaviour therapy with
the cognitive therapy, of Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, and Donald Meichenbaum to
form cognitive behaviour therapy. In some areas the cognitive component had an additive
effect (for example, evidence suggests that cognitive interventions improve the result of
social phobia treatment. But in other areas it did not enhance the treatment, which led to
the pursuit of third generation behaviour therapies. Third generation behaviour therapy
uses basic principles of operant and respondent psychology but couples them with
functional analysis and a clinical formulation/case conceptualisation of verbal behaviour
more in line with view of the behaviour analysts. Some research supports these therapies as
being more effective in some cases than cognitive therapy, but overall the question is still in
need of answers.

2. What are the basic assumptions of Behavioral Therapy?

The basic assumptions of the Behavioral Therapy are as follows :
 A concentration on behavioural processes – that is, processes closely associated
with overt behavior.
 A focus on the here and now as opposed to the then and there of behavior.
 An assumption that all behavior is learned, whether it be adaptive or maladaptive.
 A belief that learning can be effective in changing maladaptive behavior.
 A focus on setting up well defined therapy goals with their clients.
 A rejection of the idea that the human personality is composed of traits.
3. Name techniques of Behavioral Therapy and describe any 2 in detail.
There are different techniques of Behavioral Therapy such as :
Token Economy
Shaping
Prompting
Chaining :
The skill to be learned is broken down into the smallest units for easy learning. For example,
a child learning to brush teeth independently may start with learning to unscrew the
toothpaste cap. Once the child has learned this, the next step may be squeezing the tube,
and so on.
1. Pick up the spoon
2. Put spoon into the food in the bowl
3. Scoop food onto the spoon
4. Lift spoonful of food from the bowl.
5. Put the food into the mouth.
There are two kinds of chaining - forwards and backwards. The difference between the two
is the point at which you begin teaching the steps in the chain.

Example: With forwards chaining, you would start by teaching the child to pick up the spoon.
With backwards chaining, you would begin by teaching her to put the food in her mouth.

Reinforcement :
Positive reinforcement is the behavior that produces a good outcome. People are motivated
by what they get out of what they do. Positive reinforcement is mostly used as a way to
change the behavior. In the ABA approach, teaching must use what is motivating for the
child, not what the therapist thinks should be motivating for them. Following this, child is
taught new skills in very small steps and is rewarded with positive reinforcement when they
make an effort at learning.
Some rules of Reinforcements are as follows :
Timing-reinforce desirable behaviors immediately and later

 Frequency-reinforce desired behavior constantly

 Enthusiasm- being genuinely appreciative of the incremental steps

 Eye contact - showing undivided attention when reinforcing

 Describe- naming the desired behavior and why it is important

 Variety-switching it up and tailoring the reinforcer to the student

4. What therapies use Behavior Therapy Technique?

CBT - Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps
people learn how to identify and change the destructive or disturbing thought patterns that
have a negative influence on their behavior and emotions.

REBT - Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), previously called rational

therapy and rational emotive therapy, is an active
directive, philosophically and empirically based psychotherapy, the aim of which is to
resolve emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances and to help people to lead
happier and more fulfilling lives.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) - The exposure component of ERP refers to
practicing confronting the thoughts, images, objects, and situations that make you anxious
and/or provoke your obsessions. The response prevention part of ERP refers to making a
choice not to do a compulsive behavior once the anxiety or obsessions have been
“triggered.” All of this is done under the guidance of a therapist at the beginning — though
you will eventually learn to do your own ERP exercises to help manage your symptoms. Over
time, the treatment will “retrain your brain” to no longer see the object of the obsession as
a threat.

AVERSION - 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.

BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION - Behaviour modification is a method used to replace negative

behaviour patterns with desired behaviours or promote behaviour change.

APPLIED BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS - ABA therapy applies our understanding of how behaviour
works to real situations. The goal is to increase behaviours that are helpful and decrease
behaviours that are harmful or affect learning.

EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION REPROCESSING (EMDR) - Eye movement desensitization

and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy devised by Francine Shapiro in the
1980s that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic
memories such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION - Systematic desensitization, or graduated exposure therapy,

is a behaviour therapy developed by the psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe. It is used when
a phobia or anxiety disorder is maintained by classical conditioning.

ROLE PLAY - Role playing allows the clients to identify their own feelings surrounding a given
situation while simultaneously learning how others may feel.