Comparative Analysis of Behavior Therapy - Term Paper Example

Comparative Analysis of Behavior Therapy Introduction The world of counseling and psychotherapy entails numerous approaches that focus on myriad aspects with the sole objective of helping individuals gain a better understanding of their troubled situations. The approaches enable individuals to work out new ways of tackling difficult situations and suggest new methods of coping with the prevailing circumstances. Central to this paper is behavior therapy that focuses on increasing an individual’s engagement in positive or socially acceptable ways as a meant to making them improve on their feelings and mindsets. Achievement of such an objective requires development of a mutual and trusting relationship between the client and the psychotherapist. Different approaches address this objective differently, based on which we attempt to analyze the behavioral approach in relation to other approaches that include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, Motivational Therapy, Solution-focused Therapy and Psychoanalysis approach. Background of behavior therapy As the name suggests, the therapy majorly focuses on human behavior and aims at exterminating inappropriate and maladaptive behaviors. The major belief behind this theory is that learned behavior can be unlearned via therapy. It therefore evaluates the underlying thoughts and feelings that lead to a particular set of behavior in order to decipher the respective causal agents and thus initiate the appropriate corrective mechanism. Spiegler (2015) notes that while it appears that the theory originated differently and at different times in the works of Joseph Wolpe’s research group, B. F Skinners works and Rochman and Eyseck’s works, their findings had extensive links to the works of Australian psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud. Freud’s concepts therefore form the basis of the above-mentioned schools of thoughts, although presently the diverse thoughts have been conjoined to form the present day behavior therapy. The standard intervention procedures for behavior therapy exist in twofold, namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning employs a number of techniques to bring about change in behavior. Flooding technique, for instance, works best for cases where the client is phobic or anxious about certain elements, and to which the therapy exposes him/her to as a means of correction. Systematic desensitization is almost similar to flooding except that it is a more gradual process of exposure to the elements. Aversion therapy on the other hand pairs the undesirable behavior with the corresponding aversive stimulus as a means of eliminating the former. Operant conditioning employs such techniques as positive reinforcement, punishment and modeling in its attempt to alter behavior. Some of these techniques include token economies that involve the provision of tokens in exchange of certain privileges and contingency management that involves a written agreement between the client and the therapist complete with rewards and penalties. Other techniques include modeling i.e. imitation of others and extinction which entails eliminating any form of reinforcement to behavior pattern. Paramount to behavior therapy is assessment of the progress that requires complete identification and description of the precursors in order to successfully change or modify them. Such an assessment is based on certain concepts of the therapy that include identification of the client as an active participant since the change centers on them as well as acknowledging the concept that treatment is action-centered and focuses on the present behavior as a basis for change instigation. Further, the approach reinforces the concept that development of goals to be achieved by the client has to be on a universal platform that involves the participation of both the client and the therapist. These pillars ensure that the client not only bears the responsibility of his/her actions but also feels obliged to honor the agreements for the good of self. Background and comparative analysis of Cognitive Behavior Theory Cognitive behavior theory, hereafter CBT is a change prompting approach that targets both thoughts and behaviors in its attempt to improve the present state of mind. The foundation of CBT relates to the revolution against the then conventional psychoanalysis procedures that seemed too inadequate for certain cases. Pioneering this revolution were Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, who studied the relationship between thoughts and actions, elaborating on the effects of the former o the latter. This was followed by an acknowledgement that conscious thinking in psychotherapy made more sense to both the patients and the therapists (Beck and Beck, 2011). Presently, CBT is widely used in addressing anxiety and depression issues as well as other mental illnesses by breaking the resulting overwhelming problem into smaller parts i.e. situation, thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and actions, making it easier to understand the interconnectivity between them and the resulting effects. The standard intervention procedures for CBT include collaborative empiricism and psychoeducation. Collaborative empiricism reiterates the importance of a therapeutic relationship between the client and the therapist. However, in this case, the therapist is has the sole responsibility of regulating the pace of the session based on his/her assessment of clients receptivity of the session contents and the outcome. As McHugh and Barlow (2012) notes, the therapeutic relationship emphasizes on a higher degree of collaboration and a scientific attitude towards the evaluation of validity and relevance of certain cognition and behavior. Though prominent with CBT, psychoeducation blends into other psychotherapies as a core component of the treatment procedure. It de-emphasizes formal teaching an espouses the importance of challenging a client’s automatic thoughts, identification of errors due to cognition as well as the importance of implementing a style of thought that is more rational. Application of this concept involves demonstration of basic concepts about CBT with an objective of socializing the client to the process. Noteworthy is the fact that this socialization can sometimes take comparatively longer duration depending on the client’s ability to internalize abstract concepts such as schemas and attribution styles. Despite the similarity in the goals and objectives of BT and CBT, there exist some small, yet significant differences between these two approaches. While behavior therapy tends to provide instantaneous results due to its apparent simplicity in execution, CBT takes a relatively longer time to execute, hence takes time to achieve the goals. Secondly, the complex structure of CBT makes it a little difficult to use with patients with comparatively complex mental health problems and with those who have learning difficulties, an aspect that is quite contrary to BT that is simple and highly adaptable. Background and comparative analysis of Motivational Interviewing Motivational interviewing refers to the technique in which an individual, mostly a health practitioner, plays the role of a helper in the change process and only expresses his/her acceptance of the clients’ reasoning and action steps. Formulation of this approach was by psychologists Professor William R. Miller and Professor Stephen Rollnick who espoused on the impact of engaging a client’s intrinsic motivation as a means of changing behavior. The process involves expression of empathy through reflective listening, shunning direct confrontation and argument between the client and the helper and adjusting to any form of resistance from the client as opposed to eliciting direct disagreement (Douaihy, Kelly and Gold, 2014). Further, the method also advances for provision of support for self-efficacy and optimism, as well as development of discrepancy between the goals and values of the client and his/her present behavior. Simple as the method may assume, it is established on concrete pillars with interventional procedures based on substance ambivalence whose solution lies on appreciating the intrinsic motivation and values of the client and a collaborative partnership between the client and the helper characterized by relevant and informed input from the helper. Further, the approach also advocates for the establishment of a supportive, empathic and directive counseling style that fosters the realization of the intended change. It therefore facilitates critical probing of stage-specific motivational variances. Just like Behavior therapy, Motivational Interviewing acknowledges that the change process centers on the patient. It therefore employs means that imparts into the client a sense of freedom of choice and the element of readiness is at the discretion of the client. However, the approach differs from Behavior Therapy in that while the later involves change strategies coming from the client through sharing of information, the later entails a change instigation mechanism that come from outside in the form of exposure to the causative agents in order to make the client more comfortable in/with their presence. Background and comparative analysis of Solution-focused Theory The Solution-focused theory of handling change process is based on the principle of direct observation and in depth analysis of responses from a client on a number of well-designed questions. Initiated by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, the approach draws its concept from constructionist thinking, majorly focusing on what the client wants (Macdonald, 2011). Characteristic to this approach is its solution building as opposed to problem solving as a means to reaching the goal of change realization. The main intervention strategies of this theory, according to Trepper et al. (2009) includes pre-session change where the therapist asks the client to elaborate on any changes experienced since the time of making appointment with the health practitioner. This forms the foundation for the procedure, one that is built on the nature of the response. The second intervention strategy involves creating solution-focused goals that elicit the presence of a solution rather than the absence of a problem. In the event that the above-mentioned strategies fail, the therapist then asks the client to a miracle question that allows them to identify the immensity of the problem and which also leads the client to coming up with manageable goals of smaller magnitudes. Solution-focused therapy shares similarity with Behavior therapy in the sense that it addresses the present state of the individual. Further, both approaches are client-focused. However, Trepper et al. note that as opposed to Behavior therapy where the therapists assign the changes, Solution-focused approach encourages the client to accomplish more on their own. Solution-focused approach therefore attempts to develop a future visionary strategy with a potential of delivering positive results. Background and comparative analysis of Psychoanalysis The concept of Psychoanalysis elaborates that at certain points, individuals are unaware of elements that affect their emotions and behavior. These unconscious elements have the potential of producing unhappiness expressed through distinct symptoms such as disturbed personality, self-esteem issues or inability to relate well with people. Developed by Sigmund Freud, the process provides the patient with an opportunity to their thoughts, dreams, fantasies and associations from which the therapist makes inferences with an objective of establishing the unconscious conflicts that lead to the observed traits and/or behaviors. According to Gabbard, Litowitz and William (2012), the major intervention principles of Psychoanalysis include neutrality of the therapist, free association thereby allowing the client to speak all in her mind and therapeutic alliance and transference of skills connected with childhood experiences. Additionally, the strategies also include concise interpretation by the therapist to understand potential resistance of the client to change, as well as working through the new concepts to create awareness of the same in the client. Behavior Therapy differs from Psychoanalysis in the sense that the former only attempts to understand how prevailing mindset translate to specific behavior, while the latter assess the role played by subconscious thoughts in influencing behavior of an individual. Nonetheless, the two are similar in the basis that they assess the source of transient behavior, acknowledging that they stem from reasoning patterns, both conscious and subconscious. Theory integration From the above comparative analysis, it is evident that greater convergence exists between Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The two approaches apply similar concepts in addressing change instigation. CBT approach incorporates cognition as a means of enhancing its efficacy, thereby giving it that only advantage over Behavior Therapy. References Beck, J. S., & Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford Press. Douaihy, A. B., Kelly, T. M., & Gold, M. A. (2014). Motivational interviewing: A guide for medical trainees. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Gabbard, G. O., Litowitz, B. E., & Williams, P. (2012). Textbook of psychoanalysis. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Pub. Macdonald, A. J. (2011). Solution-focused therapy: Theory, research & practice. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE. McHugh, R. K., & Barlow, D. H. (2012). Dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological interventions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Spiegler, M. (2015). Contemporary Behavior Therapy. Boston, Cengage Learning. Trepper, S. T., McCollum, E., De Jong, P., Korman, H., gingerich, W. & Franklin, C. (2009). Solution Focused Therapy: Treatment Manual for Working with Individuals. Retrieved from http://www.sfbta.org/research.pdf Read More