Learn all about behavioral therapy!

In the new molds of psychology, there are several forms of care, indicated for specific problems, and one of them is behavioral therapy, which has several ways to resignify some behaviors that can be understood as harmful, either for the patients themselves or for the people around them.

In general, it is the creation of new habits and the re-signification of old habits, creating new behavior patterns, making the whole coexistence with the patient as healthy as possible. It is not that fast, but as it is a constant construction, its benefits are evident and real.

Understanding more about behavioral therapy

Behavior therapy is a treatment modality used to treat a series of harmful behaviors and disorders that are becoming more and more frequent among young people and adults. Mass, to better understand this modality, it is necessary to take into consideration a number of things, since this type of treatment did not come out of nowhere, but was the evolution of others.

Check out now a little more about this very common treatment and how it effectively benefits your patients!

What is behavioral therapy and how does it work?

Generally speaking, behavior therapy is an approach that allows the change of so-called dysfunctional behaviors within psychology. The idea is simple, but its execution is a bit more complex, since the idea is not to pretend that these habits never existed, but to adapt and create healthy ways of dealing with them.

Behavioral therapy works very much in line with the fact that behaviors are already manifested and cannot be ignored. In other words, one must go back to the source of that behavior to understand the real problem. These behaviors are seen as a symptom for something bigger that usually manifests itself in several ways.

Origin and history of behavioral therapy

The origin of this type of therapy is in the so-called Behaviorism (originated from the English term behavior, meaning behavior). This scientific house of psychology says that individuals build their patterns and stimuli according to the environment that surrounds them.

In this way, behavioral therapy goes through the individual patient's understanding of the environment in which he or she was socialized and, in this way, finding things that can explain these behaviors and their origin. With this origin in hand, the treatment becomes much easier.

General principles of behavioral therapy

As behavioral therapy is practically all based on Behaviorism, the central idea of the treatment line is to go back to the origin of the behaviors, analyzing the whole context experienced by each individual and how these 'inherited' patterns correlate with everything he presents in the present.

For example, the patient arrives with problems of commitment in his love relationships. The professional will analyze all the contact that this person had with romantic affection, since his childhood. Maybe it is a pattern that he repeats, an example he saw from his parents or close people. And, finding the cause, they start working on changing habits.

Benefits of behavioral psychotherapy

Behavioral therapy has a number of benefits, mainly because it has a direct effect on how the person understands and perceives the world. This change in the patient can be seen in a relatively short time and this causes everything around them to be changed, of course, in a positive way.

In addition, this stimulus for change gives the person the encouragement to make a lot of necessary changes that the person was putting off, because change really can be a complicated process for some people. It's a very positive loop for patients in general.

When and for whom is behavioral therapy indicated?

Behavioral therapy can be indicated for a number of cases, but it is important to say that the psychologist or psychiatrist is the one who will tell you if your case is eligible for this type of treatment. Usually, this type of therapy is indicated for those with behavioral disorders.

Its indications include phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the famous OCD. In addition, it works with dysfunctional behaviors such as depression, anxiety, and panic syndrome. In general, all of these disorders can be correlated, and it is quite common for a patient to have more than one of them.

Studies and evolution of behavioral therapy

Since it is the dismemberment of a process already known and widespread in psychology, behavioral therapy went through several stages to arrive at the treatment we know and practice today. It uses a series of theories and unique lines of thought to achieve this result.

In some types of treatments, she can even use the Freudian line, which talks about the influence of the parents, especially the mother, in the psychosocial problems that we present throughout life. The mother is our first base and, in this way, much of what we understand as the world goes through her and is taught by her.

Check out the main treatments and how they are prescribed and inserted into the reality of each patient!

Behavior modification therapies and behavioral therapies

The behavioral therapies, since its birth, have been acquiring empirical lines of thought, being very solid, since all the methods have been tested throughout its history. Its strongest base arises in the United States and most of its studies are there.

Gradually, it began to be spread around the world, and because of its benefits, it became a great ally in the fight against a number of diseases and disorders. Behavior modification follows the same line, since it is based on changing harmful behaviors.

Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy, known as CBT, has its foundations quite similar to behavioral therapy, in general, mainly because they arise from the same place, they are different offshoots of behaviorism.

However, CBT aims to align cognitive parts within the patient's behavior, not just dysfunctional actions. Many times, the dysfunctional actions are due to some cognitive mismatch, which, CBT seeks to understand and work in the best way, because, this way, it is not just about behavior, but something deeper.

Contextual behavioral therapies

Contextual behavior therapy has a slightly different footprint, in that its context analysis is a little more specific than the context analysis of commonly practiced behavior therapy. It usually treats specific moments and is more focused.

Still within behaviorism, the idea here is to analyze the environment to better understand the dysfunctional behaviors that the patient presents. However, this analysis will not be of the person's entire life, but of one moment, one trauma, one abuse, one big brutal milestone. In this way, it is dedicated to understanding how this trauma is manifesting itself in subsequent behaviors.

History of behavioral therapies in Brazil

Behavior therapy in Brazil has a very recent history, having its estimated beginning in the 1970's, when two professionals brought some studies here, in the city of São Paulo. However, although they were very interested and even sparked some interest from colleagues, the project remained on 'stand by' for almost two decades.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a larger group of psychology professionals decided to apply their efforts to understand the technique, and to their surprise, in 1985, two major institutes for this type of treatment emerged.

The one in Campinas is fundamentally focused on studying and treating patients with stress, while the one in greater São Paulo is focused on treating the famous anxiety.

Behavior therapy techniques

Differently from what it may seem, behavioral therapy has countless members and ways of being executed, since each patient has his or her own primary demands that must be respected. And, although the results sought are practically the same, the patient's response is the most important factor to be taken into consideration.

Check now the main techniques and how professionals apply them to their patients!

Classical conditioning

So-called classical conditioning is a very important basis within behavioral therapy, since it is the actual change of habits. It is a reformulation of behavior that is paramount in almost all types of applied treatments.

In this type of therapy, the professional analyzes the patient's neutral stimuli and, with them, begins to stack them in a positive way so that the patient begins to feel something with them. In this way, the patient begins to resignify things that, in another moment, would go unnoticed. It is a very important way of making new healthy habits.

Aversion Therapy

Aversion therapy can be a very interesting modality, since it seeks to treat very specific patients, such as alcoholics or chemical dependents. Its principle is simple, although its applicability is complex: to make the patient feel aversion to the addictions he or she has.

In this case, the technique is totally reversed, since the professional takes the stimuli that the patient once perceived as pleasurable and works to make it totally unpleasant. In this way, drinking, smoking, or using any substance is something that the patient does not want to do, because he feels aversion.

Flood

This can be a slightly different process, since it consists of the patient making like a big oral mural about the things that make him feel bad. He is encouraged by the professional to talk about what he is feeling and how he feels when the subject is a sensitive point. This treatment is used in many cases of phobia.

In this way, with the help of this professional, the patient will expose his 'triggers', which are the sensitive parts that trigger negative feelings and, in this way, he will learn to make them familiar, but each one in its own time. It is a process of naturalization of bad things, being very constructive for the patient.

Systematic desensitization

Being a very sweaty technique with cases of extreme phobias, systematic desensitization is the exposure of the patient to irrational fears, without the patient being able to escape or run away from them. Of course, it is only valid for irrational fears, not for things that are actually harmful, since exposing the patient to danger would be flatly unethical.

With this form of treatment, the patient begins to understand that the situation, which was previously perceived as unbearable, gradually becomes tolerable and less uncomfortable. Of course, the intention is not to make the patient like or love the situation, but for him to understand that it is not dangerous for him.

Operant conditioning

The techniques of operant conditioning behavioral therapy are twofold: reinforcement and punishment. And they work as determining factors in understanding what is healthy and what is harmful.

The way it works is simple: for every healthy attitude, reinforcement is used. It serves to keep the patient doing positive things. However, in the case of something negative, punishment is used, and with it, which is usually a scolding, modeling techniques are used to work on that harmful attitude, making them more and more spaced out.

Contingency Management

As a somewhat unusual form of treatment, contingency management is the signing of a formal contract between the psychologist or an authority figure, such as teachers or parents, where the patient commits to a series of changes and punishments that both agree on.

In this way, the time in which these things must happen is established and the rules are clear, with no room for other interpretations. This is a very interesting treatment methodology, since it makes the patient primarily involved in the treatment of his own harmful behaviors and he studies how to improve them, even though he has supervision.

Extinction

Extinction therapy has a curious way of working, since it works with the lack of gratification so that habits are extinguished on their own. The idea is that the stimulus is no longer gratified as it was before, causing one to have no reason to do it, thus creating a change.

For example, a child does something wrong and people find it funny and laugh at him, so he will always do it to get the laughter, the gratification, but if people don't laugh anymore, even if he doesn't understand that it is wrong, he won't do it, because he doesn't get the gratification anymore, and the habit will slowly die out.

Behavior Modeling

This type of therapy is much more fruitful when done in a group, since modeling is based much more on example than punishment or reinforcement. In this treatment, the patient is convinced of his harmful habits, and thus he is willing to work on them until they become something healthy.

Soon, he surrounds himself with people who have the habits he considers ideal, and through observation and example, he understands how to execute new habits and how they can be satisfying and beneficial in the medium and long term. This makes the new behaviors effectively ingrained in the person, since he has seen their praxis.

Token Savings

This technique is often used for children's behavior. The idea is that tokens are literally currencies, which can be money or anything that can be exchanged for rewards.

The child starts with x number of coins and, with their bad attitudes already well signaled, the children will lose or gain coins when they show good behavior. This makes the child understand that their negative attitudes have a negative influence on the things they want, and thus think better about their actions.

Further information about behavioral therapy

Before seeking this type of behavior, it is important to know how it can work for you, since each case needs a different type of treatment and, even if it is applied by a professional, it is important that you understand how it will be done in your case.

Check now the main information about behavioral therapy and how it is applicable in each case!

Which approach to behavioral psychotherapy to choose?

Each case is unique. If you are seeing a certified therapist, he or she will be responsible for talking with you so that together you can choose the best treatment to be done. Usually, he or she will do a very detailed primary evaluation, and only then will talk about plausible alternatives for your case.

However, if you want to apply some type of behavioral therapy on a child, sibling, or friend, it is important that you make everything clear from the beginning, because clarity in the process is what makes it healthy for both parties. And, most importantly, respect each person's time.

Effectiveness of behavioral therapy

Behavioral therapy is effective and there are years of studies that prove this, mainly because of its versatility, since it acts on several conditions, of different intensities and situations. But the exact effectiveness is a case-by-case thing.

When we talk about effectiveness, we are talking about time, and time is relative from person to person. Your treatment can be done in a few months or take years, this depends on your condition and the means you have to execute this internal change. The important thing is to keep in mind that, with determination, the changes will be bigger and better.

What is the role of the behavioral therapist?

The therapist's role is fundamental in most cases, as he or she has the exact prescription for dealing with each situation that may arise during the process. He or she will recalculate the route after each positive and negative step, making the treatment unique and personal for each patient.

His role in impartiality is also very important, since many times the environment we live in is what makes us sick, and with a totally new person with the right knowledge, this change of habits tends to be bigger, faster, and really innovative.

How to do a behavioral psychotherapy session?

A behavioral therapy session, for adults, is very much based on conversation and the limits of the patient. The therapist tries to understand the origin of bad habits and, together with the patient, goes into detail about how they should be worked on and improved.

In the doctor-patient environment, the person being analyzed should not receive any prejudiced judgment under any circumstances. The professional will, little by little, show how the harmful habits are influencing his life in a negative way, and how changing them is the ideal thing to do.

With children, the session takes on a playful face and the child is stimulated in other ways to modify some behaviors.

Negative points of behavioral therapy

To say that behavioral therapy has negative points is very strong, since what can happen is that it may not be enough for the problem you present. But then, there are other forms of treatment that cover many more disorders and dysfunctions. It is also worth saying that some cases require professionals to mix more than one treatment.

That is why it is important to have the follow-up of a good professional, because the primary evaluation of the case will provide the basis for the correct treatment for each dysfunction, so that an ineffective treatment can be applied without reason.

Enjoy all the benefits of behavioral therapy!

Behavioral therapy brings countless benefits to patients, and if your case is amenable to this type of treatment, you will reap many rewards from this type of change, because it promotes deep, internal changes. Talk to your therapist and see if your case can be the target of behavioral therapy.

It is also valid to say that the techniques used in this type of therapy can be used in daily life, making your changes come from yourself, through the already known techniques. Anyway, the benefits are countless, the changes are visible and beneficial, and you manage not only to change your life, but to change all your surroundings. This is amazing!