• Author / Uploaded
• suhail iqbal sipra

Citation preview

Behavioral Psychology and Counselling Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviorists believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our actions. 1. According to this school of thought, behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner regardless of internal mental states. 2. According to this perspective, only observable behavior should be considered—cognitions, emotions, and moods are far too subjective. Strict behaviorists believed that any person can potentially be trained to perform any task, regardless of genetic background, personality traits, and internal thoughts (within the limits of their physical capabilities). It only requires the right conditioning. Types of Conditioning Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning is a technique frequently used in behavioral training in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a naturally occurring stimulus. Eventually, the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the same response as the naturally occurring stimulus, even without the naturally occurring stimulus presenting itself. The associated stimulus is then known as the conditioned stimulus and the learned behavior is known as the conditioned response. Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through reinforcements and punishments. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. When a desirable result follows an action, the behavior becomes more likely to occur again in the future. Responses followed by adverse outcomes, on the other hand, become less likely to happen again in the future. Role of the Counselor 

Roles of the behavioral counselor are varying and include being a consultant, a reinforcer, and a facilitator of an environment to achieve the goals of therapy.



Counselors using social learning may model the desired behavior, while respondent and operant conditioning counselors are more directive and prescriptive in their approach to the therapy goals.



Use of tests and diagnosis varied greatly among behavioral counselors.

Goals 

The goal of behaviorists counselors like other theories is to improve the life of the client through better adjustments to life and to achieve personal goals professionally and personally.

Four steps in developing therapeutic goals are. 

Define the problem concretely specifying when, where, how and with whom the problem exists.



Take a developmental history of the problem eliciting conditions surrounding the beginning of the problem and what solutions the client has tried in the past.



Establish specific sub goals in small incremental steps toward the final goal.



Determine the best behavioral method to be used help the client change.

Behavior Therapy Based on Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning is one way to alter behavior, and a number of techniques exist that can produce such change. Originally known as behavior modification, this type of therapy is often referred to today as applied behavior analysis.Some of the techniques and strategies used in this approach to therapy include: Flooding This process involves exposing people to fear-invoking objects or situations intensely and rapidly. It is often used to treat phobias, anxiety and other stress-related disorders. During the process, the individual is prevented from escaping or avoiding the situation. For example, flooding might be used to help a client who is suffering from an intense fear of dogs. At first, the client might be exposed to a small friendly dog for an extended period of time during which he or she cannot leave. After repeated exposures to the dog during which nothing bad happens, the fear response begins to fade. Systematic Desensitization This technique involves having a client make a list of fears and then teaching the individual to relax while concentrating on these fears. The use of this process began with psychologist John B. Watson and his famous Little Albert experiment in which he conditioned a young child to fear a white rat. Later, Mary Cover Jones replicated Watson's results and utilized counterconditioning techniques to desensitize and eliminate the fear response.Systematic desensitization is often used to treat phobias. The process follows three basic steps.

1. First, the client is taught relaxation techniques. 2. Next, the individual creates a ranked list of fear-invoking situations. 3. Starting with the least fear-inducing item and working their way up to the most fearinducing item, the client confronts these fears under the guidance of the therapist while maintaining a relaxed state. For example, an individual with a fear of the dark might start by looking at an image of a dark room before moving on to thinking about being in a dark room and then actually confronting his fear by sitting in a dark room. By pairing the old fear-producing stimulus with the newly learned relaxation behavior, the phobic response can be reduced or even eliminated. Aversion Therapy This process involves pairing an undesirable behavior with an aversive stimulus in the hope that the unwanted behavior will eventually be reduced. For example, someone suffering from alcoholism might utilize a drug known as disulfiram, which causes severe symptoms such as headaches, nausea, anxiety, and vomiting when combined with alcohol. Because the person becomes extremely ill when they drink, the drinking behavior may be eliminated. Behavior Therapy Based on Operant Conditioning Many behavior techniques rely on the principles of operant conditioning, which means that they utilize reinforcement, punishment, shaping, modeling and related techniques to alter behavior. These methods have the benefit of being highly focused, which means that they can produce fast and effective results. Some of the techniques and strategies used in this approach to behavioral therapy include: Token Economies This type of behavioral strategy relies on reinforcement to modify behavior. Clients are allowed to earn tokens that can be exchanged for special privileges or desired items. Parents and teachers often use token economies to reinforce good behavior. Kids earn tokens for engaging in preferred behaviors and may even lose tokens for displaying undesirable behaviors. These tokens can then be traded for things such as candy, toys, or extra time playing with a favorite toy. Contingency Management This approach utilizes a formal written contract between the client and the therapist that outlines the behavior change goals, reinforcements, and rewards that will be given and the penalties for failing to meet the demands of the agreement. These types of agreements aren't just used by therapists—teachers and parents also often use them with students and children in the form of behavior contracts. Contingency contracts can be very effective in producing behavior changes

since the rules are spelled out clearly in black-and-white, preventing both parties from backing down on their promises. Modeling This technique involves learning through observation and modeling the behavior of others. The process is based on Albert Bandura's social learning theory, which emphasizes the social components of the learning process. Rather than relying simply on reinforcement or punishment, modeling allows individuals to learn new skills or acceptable behaviors by watching someone else perform those desired skills. In some cases, the therapist might model the desired behavior. In other instances, watching peers engage in sought-after behaviors can also be helpful. Extinction Another way to produce behavior change is to stop reinforcing a behavior in order to eliminate the response. Time-outs are a perfect example of the extinction process. During a time-out, a person is removed from a situation that provides reinforcement. For example, a child who starts yelling or striking other children would be removed from the play activity and required to sit quietly in a corner or another room where there are no opportunities for attention and reinforcement. By taking away the attention that the child found rewarding, the unwanted behavior is eventually extinguished. Other Techniques  

Reinforcers increase the desired behaviors, when they follow the behavior. Reinforces can be negative or positive. Positive reinforces are those that are desired by the client; while negative reinforces are contingencies to be avoided. Primary reinforces are those that are intrinsically; ; while secondary reinforces are tokens that acquire their value by being associated with a primary reinforce.



Schedules of Reinforcement

i. Fixed-ratio means that the reinforce is delivered after a set number of responses. ii. Fixed-interval means that the reinforce is delivered after a set time lapses. iii.

Variable-ration means that the reinforce is delivered after varying numbers of

responses. iv. A variable-interval means that the reinforce is delivered at varying time intervals.



Shaping is learning behavior in small steps that are successive approximations toward the final desired behavior. Chaining is the order of the desired sequence of skills leading to the desired behavior.



Generalization is the transfer of the learnings from the behavioral therapy room to the outside world.



Maintenance is the consistent continuation of learned behaviors without support control and self-management.



Punishment is the delivery of aversive stimuli resulting in suppressing or eliminating a behavior.



behavioral rehearsal is the of repeating and improving a behavior until the client accomplishes the behavior that is desired.



Environmental planning is a process where the client arranges the circumstances to promote or inhibit particular behaviors.



Implosion is having the client desensitized by imagining an anxiety provoking situation that may have a dire consequence. Flooding is similar except the anticipated outcome of the anxiety provoking situation is not dire. This technique is contraindicated for use by beginning counselors.



Time out is an aversive technique where the client is prevented, usually through some form of isolation, from receiving a positive reinforce.



Overcorrection is an aversive technique where the client is required to restore the environment and to improve it substantially.



Covert sensitization is an aversive technique where a behavior is eliminated by pairing its association with an unpleasant thought.



Cognitive restructuring is helping the clients change how they think about an event or situation by examining their thoughts and challenging the irrational or self-defeating thoughts.



Stress inoculation is a three step preventive technique.



Define the nature of stress and coping for the client.



Teach specific stress reduction and coping skills to expand those stress and coping skills the client already uses.



The client practices these new skills outside of the therapy room in real life situations.



Thought stopping is a series of procedures which help the client to replace self-defeating thoughts with assertive, positive or neutral thoughts. The initial procedure is one in which the counselor asks the client to think obsessively in a self-defeating manner, then suddenly and unexpectedly yells, “stop.” The client cannot continue the self-defeating thoughts after this disruption.

Psychoanalytic theory and counselling Psychoanalysis or psychodynamic theory, also known as the “historical perspective,” has its roots with Sigmund Freud, who believed there were unconscious forces that drive behavior. The techniques he developed, such as free association (freely talking to the therapist about whatever comes up without censoring), dream analysis (examining dreams for important information about the unconscious), and transference (redirecting feelings about certain people in one’s life onto the therapist) are still used by psychoanalysts today. Northwestern uses this theory to train counselors, and it is embedded throughout the counselor training process. In general, psychotherapists and counselors who use this approach direct much of their focus and energy on analyzing past relationships and, in particular, traumatic childhood experiences in relation to an individual’s current life. The belief is that by revealing and bringing these issues to the surface, treatment and healing can occur. This theory is highly researched, and as the field of neuroscience advances, counselors are finding how psychodynamic theory can actually positively affect a client’s brain. Psychodynamic theory can be more time intensive in comparison to some short-term theories because it involves changing deeply ingrained behaviors and requires significant work on understanding one’s self. Psychoanalytic counseling theories hold that psychological problems result from the present-day influence of unconscious psychological drives or motivations stemming from past relationships and experiences. Dysfunctional thought and behavior patterns from the past have become unconscious “working models” that guide clients toward continued dysfunctional thought and behavior in their present lives. Psychoanalytic counselors strive to help their clients become aware of these unconscious working models so that their negative influence can be

understood and addressed. Some currently preferred therapies grounded in psychoanalytic theory include psychoanalysis, attachment therapy, object relations therapy and Adlerian therapy.

Role of the Counselor To encourage the development of transference, giving the client a sense of safety and acceptance. The client freely explores difficult material and experiences from their past, gaining insight and working through unresolved issues. The counselor is an expert, who interprets for the client Goals of therapy include 

Helping the client bring into the conscious the unconscious



Helping the client work through a developmental stage that was not resolved or where the client became fixated



Help the client adjustment to the demands of work, intimacy, and society.

7.Techniques 

Free Association is a process where the client verbalizes any thoughts that may without censorship, no matter how trivial the thoughts or feeling may be to the client.



Dream Analysis is a process where the client relates their dreams to the counselor. The counselor interprets the obvious or manifest content and the hidden meanings or latent content.



Analysis of transference is a process where the client is encouraged to attribute to counselor those issues that have caused difficulties with significant authority figures in their lives. The counselor helps the client to gain insight by the conflicts and feelings expressed.



Analysis of resistance is a process where the counselor helps the client to gain insight into what causes form the basis for a hesitation or halting of therapy.



Interpretation is a process where the counselor helps the client to gain insight into past and present events.

Cognitive therapies and counseling In the 1960s, psychotherapist Aaron Beck developed cognitive theory. This counseling theory focuses on how people’s thinking can change feelings and behaviors. Unlike psychodynamic theory, therapy based on cognitive theory is brief in nature and oriented toward problem solving. Cognitive therapists focus more on their client’s present situation and distorted thinking than on their past. Cognitive and behavioral therapy are often combined as one form of theory practiced by counselors and therapists. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has been found in research to help with a number of mental illnesses including anxiety, personality, eating, and substance abuse disorders. When working with patients suffering from depression, Beck found that they commonly experienced a deluge of negative thoughts that presented themselves spontaneously. He dubbed these cognitions "automatic thoughts", and discovered that their content fell into three categories: 1.

Negative ideas about themselves.

2.

Negative thoughts about the world.

3.

Negative thoughts about the future.

According to Beck, successful interventions educate a person to recognize and be aware of their distorted thinking and will challenge its effects. Cognitive therapy is more commonly known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), due to it being almost exclusively practiced in tandem with behavioral principles - though some therapists do still offer cognitive therapy as a standalone.

This type of therapy is most commonly used for the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression, though it may be suitable in some other situations where negative patterns of thinking have developed. Cognitive counseling theories hold that people experience psychological and emotional difficulties when their thinking is out of sync with reality. When this distorted or “faulty” thinking is applied to problem-solving, the result understandably leads to faulty solutions. Cognitive counselors work to challenge their clients’ faulty thinking patterns so clients are able to derive solutions that accurately address the problems they are experiencing. Currently preferred cognitive-theory-based therapies include cognitive behavior therapy, reality therapy, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment therapy. Role of the counselor 

In this approach, counselor is active and direct.



They are instructors who teach and correct the client’s cognitions.



Countering a deeply ingrained belief requires more than logic. It requires consistent repetition.

Cognitive Therapy Cognitive therapy centers on the belief that our thoughts are influenced by how we feel. There are a number of different cognitive therapies, including Cognitive-Behavioral, Reality, Rational Emotive and Transactional Analysis. Cognitive therapy focuses on the present. This means that issues from the past that are influencing current thinking, are acknowledged but not concentrated on. C ognitive therapy is

the way in which the counselling relationship, between a counsellor and client, develops. Assertiveness exercises, role-playing and homework are also part of the supportive one-to-one sessions a client will have with a counsellor.

Rational emotive behavior therapy

Rational Emotive Behavior therapy (REBT) centers on the belief that human beings have a tendency to develop irrational behavior and beliefs. These are the ‘musts’ and ‘should’ that many people fill their lives with, and which influence thought and deed. REBT acknowledges that past and present conditions affect a person’s thinking and utilizes a framework so that the counsellor can apply activating events that allow the client to identify beliefs and consequences. 

The primary goals of REBT focus on helping people realize that they can live more rational and productive lives.



REBT helps clients stop making demands and becoming upset through catastrophizing.



One way this is accomplished is through teaching clients the A-B-C-D-E model of REBT:



A signifies the activating experience.



B represents how the person thinks about the experience.



C is the emotional reaction to B



D is disputing irrational thoughts, usually with the help of a REBT counselor, and replacing them with.



E effective thoughts and hopefully a new personal philosophy that will help clients achieve great life satisfaction.

Techniques REBT encompasses a number of diverse techniques. Two primary ones are teaching and disputing. 

Teaching involves having clients learn the basic ideas of REBT and understand how thoughts are linked with emotions and behaviors(REE).



Disputing thoughts and beliefs takes one of the three forms: cognitive, imaginal, and behavioral.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive

behavior therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors Cognitive behavior therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors Cognitive behavior therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings

that influence behaviors This cognitive approach to counselling is based on the belief that learning comes from personal experience. Counselling will focus on a client’s ability to accept behavior, clarify problems and difficulties and understand the reasoning behind the importance of setting goals. With the help of self-management training, assertive exercises and role-playing the counsellor can help a client work towards goals. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help with issues such as: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addictions, eating disorders, phobias and panic disorder, anger problems, relationship problems, sleep problems etc. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) helps to be present to what is, accept what can’t control, and take actions to positively change what can. The idea behind ACT is to help become more aware of who you are and what you truly value. Acceptance and Commitment therapy can help with: 

depression and anxiety



post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)



chronic pain



eating disorders



addiction.

Virtual Reality Therapy This form of therapeutic approach works well in treating fears and phobias. This is because virtual reality therapy (VRT) concentrates on accurately duplicating the distressing situations. Counsellors who use this form of cognitive approach, during counselling sessions, will recreate situations in order to expose the client to what triggers their fear. VRT also works well in treating anxiety disorders. Transactional Analysis TA, as Transactional Analysis is also known, is based on the notion that our personality consists of three states of ego – parent, adult and child. During interaction with others one of our ego states will predominate, depending on the situation we find ourselves in. Certain types of behavior are associated with each of the ego roles, and using this form of cognitive approach to

counselling allows the client to understand the different ego stages and how they interact with each other. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was developed with the aim of reducing relapse and recurrence of depression in those who are vulnerable to episodes. The technique employs traditional cognitive therapy methods and uses them in tandem with newer psychological strategies such as mindfulness and meditation. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) EMDR is a treatment that psychotherapists use to help access and process memories from traumatic experiences, helping to move on. It can feel a strange process, having to discuss old memories as a therapist essentially encourages to focus on something else, usually moving eyes or possibly hand tapping or something else.