Why Behavior Therapy Is Important - Essay Example

These techniques are used to help them in their daily lives. Emphasis is placed on self-control and the client being able to "initiate, conduct and evaluate their own therapy" (Corey, p. 233). The role of the counselor in behavior therapy is to help the client develop goals and to help them find more choices and new conditions for learning as they move through the therapeutic process. The counselor will initially interview the client to find the specific behaviors to address. Behavior therapists also are "active and directive" and they are problem solvers.

The individual who is most prominently known as the one who began behavior therapy is B.F. Skinner, however, the history of this type of therapy goes back to the 1950s and was equally introduced in the United States, South Africa, and Great Britain at the same time. According to the textbook, there are many studies that use behavioral techniques to assist in many mental disorders. Some critics think that this therapy does not go far enough in helping clients because it does not provide insights for the client and it ignores the relationship between the client and the therapist.

Behaviorists also put emphasis on ethical accountability. In contrast, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) expands upon what the behavior therapist does by bringing in a cognitive component. The basic premise of this therapy is that an individual is very capable of healing themselves because they are naturally inclined to do "self-talking, self-evaluating and self-sustaining" (Corey, p. 273). This theory grew out of work by Albert Ellis. REBT sees that humans have the capacity to think rationally and irrationally at the same time.

They can be loving, happy, and have strong relationships or they can be self-destructive, procrastinate and repeat the same problems over and over. Individuals learn irrational beliefs through significant people around them, and they create "irrational dogmas and superstitions" (Corey, p. 273) on their own from these irrational beliefs. This therapy also says that most people are experiencing blaming --they are either blaming themselves or others for their problems -- and it makes them take responsibility for themselves on a deep level.

Central to this therapy is the A-B-C Theory of Personality. In this theory, an individual has an activating event that creates a belief, and then the individual develops an emotional consciousness because of the activating event. The role of the counselor is to show the client that they have incorporated irrational beliefs that are holding them back. The therapist then helps the client find other beliefs or activities that will counter the self-defeating behaviors. They also must help the client see that they are still involved in illogical thinking and unrealistic behavior.

A basic difference between REBT and general behavior therapy is that REBT looks deeper into the individual rather than only focusing on behavior.