THEORITICAL

PERSPECTIVE
ASSIGNMENT

Topic:- History and Techniques of

Behaviour Therapy

- By
PRIYANKA DAS
DU2020MSC0084
HISTORY AND TECHNIQUES OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY

Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to

clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived
from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. Behavioural therapy is rooted in
the principles of behaviourism, a school of thought focused on the idea that we
learn from our environment. It arose out of the German mechanist theory
of psychology in the nineteenth century. Building upon the experimental work
of Edward L. Thorndike and Ivan Pavlov, the behaviourists theorized that human
activity was based on a learning model depending upon trial and error. Behaviour
that produced a pleasurable or useful result was retained and all other behaviour
was ignored and abandoned over time.
Behaviour therapy had its beginnings in the early 1900’s and became
established as a psychological approach in the 1950s and 1960s. The early
pioneers of behavioural therapy were primarily disaffected psychoanalysts,
disappointed in the results of traditional Freudian therapy. The pioneering
psychologists that broke from the old paradigm met opposition and criticism from
many of their peers, although they were applying some of the experimental data
from behaviourism to new clinical work. Two of the early practitioners
were Joseph Wolpe and Ellis. By the late 1950s, this strict approach had run its
course as it became clear that mind could not be excluded from theories of
human behaviour and is not merely a consequence, but a motivator of behaviour.
Human beings were observed to continue to react to conditioned stimuli long
after reinforcement had ceased. The concept derives primarily from work of the
Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, who published extensively in the 1920s and
1930s on the application of conditioning techniques and theories to abnormal
behaviour. Pavlov’s contributions to behavioural therapy were accidental. He was
originally studying the digestive process of dogs when he discovered that
associations can develop when pairing a stimulus (food) that has a response (dog
salivates) with a stimulus that has no response (bell). The stimulus with no
response (bell) eventually develops the same response (dog salivates) as the
stimuli that has the response (food). This type of learning is known as classical
conditioning. Behaviour therapy was popularized by the U.S. psychologist
B.F. Skinner, who worked with mental patients in a Massachusetts state hospital.
From his work in animal learning, Skinner found that the establishment and
extinction (elimination) of responses can be determined by the way reinforcers,
or rewards, are given. The pattern of reward-giving, both in time and frequency, is
known as a “schedule of reinforcement.” The gradual change in behaviour in
approximation of the desired result is known as “shaping.” Watson has been
described as the “father” of behaviourism (McLeod). He used Pavlov’s principles
of classical conditioning as well as emphasizing that all behaviour could be
understood as a result of learning. Watson’s research involved the study of a
young child called “Albert”. “Albert” was initially not scared of rats. However,
Watson paired the rat with a loud noise and this frightened “Albert”. After this
was repeated numerous times, “Albert” developed a fear of rats. He also
developed a fear of things similar to a rat such as men with beards, dogs, and fur
coats. This fear was extinguished after a month of not repeating the experiment.

The techniques of Behavioural Therapy are:-

1. SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION

Systematic desensitisation was developed by Joseph Wolfe and was designed for
clients with phobias. This treatment follows a process of “counterconditioning”
meaning the association between the stimulus and the anxiety is weakened
through the use of relaxation techniques, anxiety hierarchies and desensitisation.

The steps included are:-

Step 1- The patient is taught a deep muscle relaxation technique and breathing
exercises. E.g. control over breathing, muscle detensioning or meditation.

Step 2- The patient creates a fear hierarchy starting at stimuli that create the least
anxiety (fear) and building up in stages to the most fear provoking images. 

Step 3- The patient works their way up the fear hierarchy, starting at the least
unpleasant stimuli and practising their relaxation technique as they go.
 2. EXPOSURE THERAPY

Exposure therapies are designed to expose the client to feared situations similar
to that of systematic desensitisation. The therapies included are in vivo
desensitisation and flooding. In vivo desensitisation involves the client being
exposed to real life anxiety provoking situations. Flooding involves the client
being exposed to the actual or imagined fearful situation for a prolonged period
of time. The goal of exposure therapy is to create a safe environment in
which a person can reduce anxiety, decrease avoidance of dreaded
situations, and improve one's quality of life. Exposure therapy is
designed to reduce the irrational feelings a person has assigned to an
object or situation by safely exposing him or her to various aspects of
that fear. For example, while working with someone who has a fear of
spiders—arachnophobia—an exposure therapist might first ask the
person to picture a spider in his or her mind. This might lead to several
sessions in which the therapist asks the person to imagine more intense
scenes with the spider, all while teaching coping skills and providing
support. Once the anxiety response is reduced, the therapist may
progress to real life exposure. In this type of exposure, the therapist
might start by placing a contained spider at the far end of the room and
lead up to placing the spider in the person's hand.

3. AVERSION THERAPY
This treatment involves pairing the aversive behaviour (such as drinking
alcohol) with a stimulus with an undesirable response (such as a medication
that induces vomiting when taken with alcohol). This is designed to reduce
the targeted behaviour (drinking alcohol) even when the stimulus with the
undesirable response is not taken (medication). For example, a person
undergoing aversion therapy to stop smoking might receive an electrical
shock every time they view an image of a cigarette. The goal of the
conditioning process is to make the individual associate the stimulus with
unpleasant or uncomfortable sensations. During aversion therapy, the
client may be asked to think of or engage in the behavior they enjoy while
at the same time being exposed to something unpleasant such as a bad
taste, a foul smell, or even mild electric shocks. Once the unpleasant
 feelings become associated with the behaviour, the hope is that unwanted
behaviours or actions will begin to decrease in frequency or stop entirely.

4. MODELLING

Modelling is used as a treatment that involves improving interpersonal

skills such as communication and how to act in a social setting. Techniques
involved in modelling are live modelling, symbolic modelling, role-playing,
participant modelling and covert modelling. Live modelling involves the
client watching a “model” such as the counsellor perform a specific
behaviour, the client then copies this behaviour. Symbolic modelling
involves the client watching a behaviour indirectly such as a video. Role-
playing is where the counsellor role-plays a behaviour with the client in
order for the client to practice the behaviour. Participant modelling
involves the counsellor modelling the behaviour and then getting the client
to practice the behaviour while the counsellor performs the behaviour.
Covert modelling is where the client cannot watch someone perform the
behaviour but instead the counsellor gets the client to imagine a model
performing the behaviour.