Why Behavior Therapy is Good for Counseling

Introduction

Behavioral therapy is best understood as a behavioral modification. And counselors usually employ this therapy to change bad behaviors that are destructive with those that are good. More so, behavioral modification is found to be necessary when a client is being enabled to manage challenging situations, mood and anxiety problems. Typically, behavioral therapy is adopted to treat a range of disorders which include: obsession, eating, drug and substance abuse, autism, socialization, personality, smoking, depression and many more. In light of this, this therapy is used to treat clients that are chronically ill or are in pain (Kalshoven, Hartog & De Hoogh, 2010: 350-351). According to Tuckman (1965), long lasting changes are those that are done in small bits rather than a whole major change. This fact is noted to be one that makes behavioral therapy be preferred by many therapists. In regards to this, this paper attempts to explore the series of small bit modifications that take place in behavioral therapy which assist patients/clients make permanent good behaviors. The study ends with a conclusion that sums up the study.

The Minor Steps taken in Behavioral Therapies to Modify Behaviors

Scholars like Nicholas & Peterson (2005) and Knight & Robinson (2015) build this study by documenting that behavioral therapy simply consist of learning methods that are targeted towards reinforcing good behaviors. This technique is explained to mean that for every good behavior, an incentive is given which makes the patient repeat that behavior more times.

Desa & Grossberg (2001) educates that behavior therapies are several but all are founded from two different methods of learning which are divided to work on reaction behaviors and stimulated behaviors. The former reaction behaviors are suggested to modify reactions of a patient when provoked for example, while stimulated behaviors are conveyed to be those that reinforce good behaviors and they mostly include behaviors related to satisfaction. This finding is found to match with Knight & Robinson (2015) argument that claims behavioral modification therapies are mainly conducted following the theoretical principles of learning and the functions of reducing the major disorders that were created, reinforced and maintained by a patient.

Another attempt that therapist consider in replacing behaviors is for the patient to be able to monitor the number of times he or she has portrayed a good behavior and which is also made easier with the rewards patients get in return. More so, this mechanism is also said to help patients relate the outcomes of a good behavior portrayed and which are expected to make the patient find a reasonable difference. Other therapeutic efforts are mentioned to include making patients learn how to manage certain events and in addition taught how to solve problems, relax, and letting their opinions be heard and needs be known. It is pointed out that just like in cognitive therapy, learning processes used in modify behaviors are only founded on existing skills. These skills unlike new ones are found to be effective in identifying thoughts and behaviors that are bad and easily replacing good behaviors which the patient is made to adapt to (Knight & Robinson, 2015).

Case Studies: Behavioral Therapies Employed to Change Various Negative Behaviors

Behavior Modification of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Knight & Robinson (2015) explains that drug and alcohol abuse in adults is a bad behavior that is reinforced by vices like loneliness, lack of good social-support groups, and depression. Thus, based on these already existing solutions, a therapist first of all finds ways of improving the patient’s life in several ways. This is in addition to assisting him find satisfaction in drinking. This initial effort is said to be also a way of establishing the main stimuli that triggers the patient to opt drinking and after enabling the patient begin abstaining from drinking. After which, skills to cope with unavoidable and challenging circumstances are taught and alternative behaviors are created practiced and reinforced as explained before in the previous section of this paper.

 Behavior Modification of Depression

Depression is a common reaction for people who lack happiness due to chronic illnesses, disabilities or loss. Behavioral therapy is considered in treating depression by making patients learn new ways to cope with their circumstances while fighting those that discourage one from proper coping. In this treatment process, daily events that are found to affect the mood of individual patients are monitored and their frequencies recorded. Here, a difference of events that have a pleasant reaction and those that have an unpleasant reaction is established and are addressed accordingly in the therapy sessions. That is pleasant events are increased while those that are unpleasant are reduced. Thus in the processes, good behaviors that replace depression, which are coping skills are reinforced.

A General Overview of Behavioral Therapies

From these case studies, it is evident that treatment processes are strongly matched to adequately match the conditions that affect a patient. This is basically meant to improve the life of patients and this is the major benefit that clients get from behavioral therapy. Moreover, these benefits happen to vary according to individual conditions that are worked on to increase quality of life. Thus in a general sense, these benefits basically include: (a) reduced and/or eliminated incidents of self-inflicted harm (b) improved skills of socialization (c) increased positive functioning in situations that one is unfamiliar with (d) increased abilities of expressing oneself emotionally (e) reduced outbursts (f) a good way of managing pain (g) ability to know when a need to get medical assists arises (Cherney, 2005-2015).

Behavioral therapies are preferred because the benefits that patients enjoy are long lasting so long as the learning process is effective enough. The risks involved in this treatment process are very few. They are said to cover incidents like outbursts, cries, anxieties and others that may arise when therapists try to understand events and conditions that trigger bad behaviors in patients. And thus, can be painful and exhausting treatment sessions (Cherney, 2005-2015).

Cherney (2005-2015) further constructs that behavioral therapy is a treatment that forms part of the general recovery processes that a patient is passed through so that he or she can be completely have his or her life restored back to normal. This is especially in cases like depression which occur as side effect of a certain health problem. Behavioral treatment is also strongly related with cognitive therapy where patients are made to interpret the differences of outcomes they realize after upholding a positive behavior. This is said to imply that various treatment processes are considered since they collaborate well in the recovery processes of patients. Thus, like behavioral therapy can also be used to help a patient to follow the given medications by improving intake behaviors or also improving behaviors that end up reducing medications and others.

Conclusion

The main objective of this study was to establish why behavioral therapy is good for counseling. From the study, behavioral therapy is a form of treatment that focuses on modifying behaviors in that good behaviors replace those bad ones. And this objective matches strongly with the goals of counseling which is basically to reduce or eliminate self-inflicted harm. Bad behaviors in the study are those that make one lead a low quality life style and are like: drug and alcohol abuse, depression, smoking, and others. These behaviors are found to those that people find themselves dependent on in order to get some desired satisfaction. But these behaviors often lead to incidences that to individual harm. Health practitioners find behavioral therapy as the best means to fight against these dependencies because they have the potential of eliminating them permanently. This has been seen to be so because; they act on individual conditions that trigger bad behaviors in patients. Another reason is that behavioral treatment fits in well in the general recovery process of patients in ensuring that patients take their medications well or even help in reducing medications. And also, because behavioral therapy is less risky to patients and thus, there are no cases of side effects. 

References

Cherney, K. (2005-2015). Part 1 of 7: Overview: Behavioral Therapy. Retrieved< http://www.healthline.com/health/behavioral-therapy#Overview1>.

Desa, A. K. & Grossberg, G. T. (2001). Recognition and Management of Behavioral Disturbances in Dementia. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry, 3(3): 93-109.

Kalshoven, K., Hartog, D N. D. & De Hoogh, A. H. B. (2010). Ethical Leader Behavior and Big Five Factors of Personality. Journal of Business Ethics, 2011(100), 349-366.

Knight, B. G. & Robinson G. S. (2015). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Encyclopedia of Aging, 2002.

Nicholas, C. & Peterson, J. S. (2005). Counseling and Human Development. Group Counseling with Gifted Students. Counseling and Human Development, 31(5), 1.

Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental Sequence in Small Groups’. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), p. 384-99.