Benefits Of Behavioral Therapy

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Behavioral therapies and their effectiveness Behavioral therapy is a treatment that helps change self destructing behaviors. It also involves changing the behavior to reduce the dysfunction and to improve the quality of life. Medical professionals use this type of therapy to replace bad habits with good ones. The therapy can also help you cope with difficult situations. Behavior therapy has a wide range of techniques that can be used to treat a person. Behavior therapy breaks down into three disciplines, which are; applied behavior analysis, cognitive behavior therapy, and social learning theory. Applied behavior analysis focuses on operant conditioning, and cognitive behavior therapy focuses on thoughts and feelings. The principles of …show more content…

Therapists help clients in many different ways. They help clients make positive changes by discussing their past behavior, they help clients discover why they think certain thoughts and how these thoughts affect their feelings. Therapists also help clients to identify and fix problems with relationships, they empathize with clients and help them to understand why they behave they way they do, and they help clients cope with their illnesses. Therapists also use techniques such as role playing, breathing and relaxation methods, journal writing, and social skills training. Sometimes a therapist may ask clients to think about situations that scare them. The goal is not to frighten them but to help them develop coping skills. There are benefits to behavioral therapy. Specific benefits vary depending on what condition is being treated. These can include; reduced incidents of self-harm, better pain management, less outbursts, improved social skills and emotional expressions, better functioning in unfamiliar situations, and the ability to recognize the need for medical help (Healthline, …show more content…

Although, two large studies performed by the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University indicates that both behavioral therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy are equally effective for OCD. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been proven to perform better at treating co-occurring depression (Bechdolf A, Knost B, Kuntermann C, 2004). In conclusion, Behavioral therapy is not a cure for any condition. It is a method of teaching to help people cope with everyday life. A person may only need it on a short term basis, depending on the individual needs. The length of a treatment plan depends on the individual 's progress and goals (Cherney, 2013). However, the most important thing to do is continue taking any medications as prescribed. Research shows that learned techniques in therapy may gradually reduce the need for medicine. Again, each individual is

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