Behaviour Therapy
It is an umbrella term for types of therapy that treat mental health disorders. This form of therapy seeks to identify and help change potentially self-destructive or unhealthy behaviors.
Basic Idea behind it : All behaviors are learned and that unhealthy behaviors can be changed.
Focus of treatment : It’s focus on current problems and how to change them.
Useful To Treat : Anxiety disorders, depression, panic disorders, anger issues, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, ADHD, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), self-harm, substance abuse, somatoform disorders etc.
Types of behavioral therapy:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy - It combines behavioral therapy with cognitive therapy. Treatment is centered around how someone’s thoughts and beliefs influence their actions and moods. Major focus is on a person’s current problems and how to solve them. The long-term goal is to change a person’s thinking and behavioral patterns to healthier ones.
- Cognitive behavioral play therapy : Useful for children.
- System desensitization: System desensitization relies heavily on classical conditioning. It’s used to treat phobias. People are taught to replace a fear response to a phobia with relaxation responses. A person is first taught relaxation and breathing techniques. Once mastered, the therapist will slowly expose them to their fear in heightened doses while they practice these techniques.
- Aversion therapy: It used to treat problems such as substance abuse and alcoholism. It works by teaching people to associate a stimulus that’s desirable but unhealthy with an extremely unpleasant stimulus. The unpleasant stimulus may be something that causes discomfort.
