Behavior Therapy Techniques Research Articles

Personal therapy: a disorder-relevant psychotherapy for schizophrenia.

While the long-term care of ambulatory schizophrenia patients requires highly effective interpersonal treatment skills among clinicians, there is little evidence to support an empirically validated individual psychotherapy of schizophrenia. Personal therapy (PT) attempts to address the apparent limitations of traditional psychotherapy by modifying the "model of the person" to accommodate an underlying pathophysiology, minimizing potential iatrogenic effects of maintenance antipsychotic medication, controlling sources of environmental provocation, and extending therapy to a time when crisis management has lessened and stabilization is better ensured. By means of graduated, internal coping strategies, PT attempts to provide a growing awareness of personal vulnerability, including the "internal cues" of affect dysregulation. The goals are to increase foresight through the accurate appraisal of emotional states, their appropriate expression, and assessment of the reciprocal response of others. The strategies are supplemented by phase-specific psychoeducation and behavior therapy techniques. Practical issues in the application of this new intervention are discussed. Preliminary observations from two samples of patients, one living with and the other living independent of family, suggest differential improvement over time among PT recipients.

Group treatment of adult male inpatients abused as children

Recent research indicates that childhood abuse experiences characterize a large subset of psychiatric inpatients. This paper presents a time-limited pilot group developed for adult male abuse survivors in an inpatient setting using: (1) techniques adapted from the existing literature on treatment of abuse survivors; and (2) approaches deriving from the interface of theory and current manifestations of distress. The eclectic therapeutic approach incorporated psychoeducational, cognitive, behavioral, and art therapy techniques presented below in a session-by-session format.

Group treatment of adult male inpatients abused as children

Recent research indicates that childhood abuse experiences characterize a large subset of psychiatric inpatients. This paper presents a time-limited pilot group developed for adult male abuse survivors in an inpatient setting using: (1) techniques adapted from the existing literature on treatment of abuse survivors; and (2) approaches deriving from the interface of theory and current manifestations of distress. The eclectic therapeutic approach incorporated psychoeducational, cognitive, behavioral, and art therapy techniques presented below in a session-by-session format.

Psychosocial Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

State-of-the-art psychosocial treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder is based on behavior therapy strategies and techniques with adjunctive pharmacological treatment. The critical therapeutic element is the prolonged confrontation of the individual with the stimuli that provokes obsessive thoughts or compulsive actions, without the individual then engaging in cognitive or ritualistic avoidance behaviors. For the clinician, a decision model for treating this disorder is drawn from recent behavioral and pharmacological research, as well as from the individual's self-help capacities. Judicious use of currently available treatments can reduce suffering and restore lost psychosocial functioning in obsessive-compulsive patients and their families.

Trichotillomania: Clinical Aspects and Treatment Strategies *

Trichotillomania is a disorder of compulsive hair pulling that often results in alopecia. The clinical features include the pulling of hair from the scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes, sometimes symmetrically; pubic and other bodily hair may also be plucked. The disorder is present in 0.6% of college students. The majority of sufferers who seek treatment are female, with usual age of onset between 11 and 16 years. Trichotillomania can occur in a wide variety of psychiatric disorders, and patients with the condition may be more likely to have a lifetime diagnosis of depression or an anxiety, eating, or substance abuse disorder. Although empirically derived treatment guidelines are still lacking, the current literature suggests that behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy are the most efficacious treatments for adult trichotillomania. Controlled trials with pharmacotherapy (clomipramine) have shown significant reductions in hair pulling over the short term. Controlled investigations of behavior therapy have not been conducted, but several treatment series suggest efficacy. At least three reports also suggest that behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy bring some improvement in childhood trichotillomania, although this has not been empirically studied. A case illustrating the combination of behavior therapy techniques and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of trichotillomania is presented.

Behavioral Treatment of Childhood Anxiety Disorders

This article provides an overview of childhood anxiety and appropriate assessment methods from a behavior therapy perspective and then focuses on a detailed description of the behavior therapy techniques that are most commonly used to treat these disorders. Issues related to treatment planning and the use of behavioral methods to increase understanding of childhood anxiety are discussed.

Information processing and classical conditioning: Implications for exposure therapy and the integration of cognitive therapy and behavior therapy

This article reviews Wagner's standard operating procedures (SOP) model, an information processing model of conditioning, and some of its supporting evidence. The implications of this model for behavior therapy are explored. Applying the SOP model to the anxiety reduction technique of exposure, it is predicted that: (1) rehearsal and attention- focusing should facilitate whereas distraction should attenuate the long-term benefits of exposure: and (2) successful exposure therapy should be associated with a demonstrable allocation of cognitive processing resources and indications of enhanced elaborative processing of the feared stimuli. At a more general level, the SOP model may provide a bridge between traditional behavior therapy techniques and the principles that underly cognitive therapy. That is, the SOP model suggests that even those behavior therapy techniques which represent the most straightforward applications of conditioning procedures can be seen as being mediated by information processing mechanisms.

Application of behavior therapy techniques to the treatment of obesity in companion animals

Application of behavior therapy techniques to the treatment of obesity in companion animals

Diagnosis and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder that appears to be due to a disturbance in central serotonergic functioning. Drugs, such as clomipramine, that inhibit neuronal reuptake of serotonin are effective in treating OCD. Behavioral therapy techniques are also effective.

Stress management

Stress management is an important health demand in developed and rapidly developing countries. The principle of stress management consists of four strategies. That is, reduction of stressors, culture of stress tolerance, enrichment of supporting resources, and early detection of manifestations of physical and mental disorders. Accordingly, a comprehensive approach is needed for stress management. For reduction of stressors, methods of quantitatively measuring not only physico-chemical stressors, but also psycho-social stressors, have been explored. However, both the absolute level and the varying degrees of stress are valuable stress indicators. Techniques of behavioral therapy are admirable for avoiding new stress through a culture of stress tolerance. Enrichment of supporting resources is realized by two dimensions: one is man-power and the other is space and time for relaxation. For early detection of the manifestations of physical and/or mental disorders, we must pay attention to alexithymia and alexisomia in order to prevent delays in detection.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder that appears to be due to a disturbance in central serotonergic functioning. Drugs, such as clomipramine, that inhibit neuronal reuptake of serotonin are effective in treating OCD. Behavioral therapy techniques are also effective.

Treatment of Fibromyalgia Syndrome with Psychomotor Therapy and Marital Counseling

Objectives: In this study we tried to determine if a combined treatment of psychomotor therapy and marital counselling was suitable for treatment of the fibromyalgia syndrome. Methods: Fifty fibromyalgia patients were treated, after psychological and medical screening, with group psychomotor therapy combined with marital counselling for couples. Fifty fibromyalgia patients participated as non-treatment controls. The treatment goal was to help the patient learn to cope with the disabilities of the syndrome. The therapy consisted of psychomotor and behavioral therapy techniques to enhance relaxation, assertiveness and learning to differentiate between the complaints of the syndrome and other bodily and emotional sensations. Results: The patients [70%] reported to be satisfied with regard to self-confidence and methods to enhance relaxation. Many patients [66%] reported improvement in their ability to deal with the disabilities. The drop-out percentage was rather high; [33%]. These data were not confirmed by the assessment material [SCL-90R and UCL], which were applied prior to directly after, and 6 months after treatment. There were no significant differences compared to the non-treatment controls. Conclusions: The current treatment program was not sufficient to enhance significant and durable changes in fibromyalgia patients. Further modification of the treatment program and research seems to be necessary.

Major therapeutic systems and the bereaved client

The bereaved individual may experience major emotional, physical, and cognitive changes. Counselling can facilitate the course of the grief process and various therapeutic techniques may be employed if there is evidence of complications in grief. In this context, a survey is undertaken of the utility of the principal therapeutic approaches, namely client-centred counselling, Gestalt therapy, Gendlin's focusing technique, rational-emotive therapy, transactional analysis, behaviour therapy, and transpersonal techniques. An eclectic approach to grief counselling is advocated.

Treatment of Gas Mask Phobia

Many soldiers develop feelings of claustrophobia when wearing a protective mask. In the battlefield environment of today, it is essential that soldiers be able to tolerate gas masks. This article briefly reviews the historical use of gas masks in the U.S. Army. Two cases of treatment of gas mask phobia are described. Behavioral therapy techniques useful for treatment are summarized.

Group rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

The theory of rational-emotive therapy (RET) and of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is briefly explained and is applied to group therapy. It is shown how RET and CBT therapy groups deal with transference, countertransference, levels of group intervention, process versus content orientation, identifying underlying group process themes, here-and-now activation, working with difficult group members, activity levels of therapist and group members, and other group problems. Although they particularly concentrate on people's tendencies to construct and create their own "emotional" difficulties, RET and CBT group procedures fully acknowledge the interactions of human thoughts, feelings, and actions and active-directively employ a variety of cognitive, emotive, and behavioral group therapy techniques.

The practice of behavior therapy among clinical psychologists in Hong Kong

A survey was conducted to assess the extent to which behavior therapy techniques were employed by clinical psychologists in Hong Kong. The most popular techniques included those that could be grouped under the self-management package and the least popular techniques generally involved an aversive element, or were in vivo. The use of behavior theraphy was correlated with the younger age range of the treatment clientele. The results and the future development of behavior theraphy were discussed in terms of cultural issues, training and the theoretical orientations of the respondents.

APPLIED CROSS‐CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Abstract In most developing countries, academic pursuit is expected to have some positive outcome. The expectation is legitimate. Being a re-searcher is to be considered a privilege. With such paucity of resources and urgency about eradication of poverty, meeting the needs of the hungry and the destitute, any fund allocated for scientific research implies diverting the scarce resources to less urgent areas. Doing research is, therefore, not so much of a pastime, as it sometimes tends to become in more affluent societies, but an activity from which the community legitimately expects some tangible return. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that research in psychology in India and in most developing countries is trying to become largely problem-oriented and applied. Moreover, application is restricted not merely to individualbased problems like adjustment, delinquency, drug-addiction and so on by using behaviour therapy and other techniques, or applications of psychological principles towards enhancing t...

Male Sexual Dysfunction

Impotence and premature ejaculation are common male sexual dysfunctions that are present in most adult primary care populations. New information about the vascular and neurophysiologic mechanisms of impotence have been joined by new technology to advance the medical practices in the diagnosing and treating of the impotent male. While similar advances have not occurred in the understanding of premature ejaculation, behavior therapy techniques are extremely effective with motivated couples. Primary care physicians can aid male patients with sexual dysfunction by attempting to identify them, initiating diagnostic and treatment programs, and referring patients for additional evaluations or specialized procedures when indicated.

Contemporary approaches to psychotherapy and counseling: the self-regulation and maturity model

Introduction. The therapeutic process. An intellectual history of psychotherapy and counseling. Self-regulation and behavior therapy: theoretical and practical foundations. Contemporary behavior therapy techniques. Maturity and insight therapy: theoretical and practical foundations. Contemporary insight therapy: psychoanalytic approaches. Contemporary insight therapy: self-actualization approaches. Family therapy. Comprehensive approaches to psychotherapy and counseling. Coda. Glossary. References. Epigraph sources.

Control of pain in cancer patients

Almost three quarters of patients with cancer have severe pain, from invasion of the cancer itself, from effects of therapy, or from causes unrelated to the cancer (but often exacerbated by it). With the proper pain-management strategy, however, pain can be controlled in most patients. The analgesic ladder for pain control, promoted by the World Health Organization, begins with a nonnarcotic agent, progresses to a weak narcotic plus a nonnarcotic, and finally reaches a strong narcotic. Adjuvant agents, which increase the analgesic potency of the drug being used, may be added at any level. The most common reasons for inadequate pain control in cancer patients are incorrect narcotic dosing and incorrect switching from one narcotic to another and from one route of administration to another. Factors that influence pain management (eg, fear, anxiety, sleep disturbance) should be treated as well with appropriate medications, behavioral therapy, counseling, hypnosis, and other supportive techniques. These points are illustrated in the case report (see box, page 328).