Behavioural Counseling

Behavioural Counselling Therapy

• This approach is based on primary learning comes from experience.

• The premise is that all behavior is learned.
• Behavioural counselling and therapy is an action-based
• It applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted
behaviours.
• The people behave in the way that their environment has taught them
to behave.
• The process behavioural counselling and therapy is to help the client
with analyse behaviour, define problems, and select goals.
This approach is effective for individuals who require
treatment for some sort of behaviour change

• Addictions,
• Phobias
• Anxiety disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• PTSD
• Mood disorders.
To help people to learn new
behaviours by Behavioural
experiments, Role-playing,
Assertiveness training, and
Self-management training.
Aspects of Behavioural counselling and therapy

• 1) Classical Conditioning
In classical conditioning, certain respondent behaviours, such as knee
jerks and salivation can be a result of a classical conditioning  i.e.
learning principles—learning that occurs when things get paired together
• 2) Operant Conditioning
It focuses on actions that operate on the environment to produce
consequences. If the environmental change brought about by the
behaviour is reinforcing, the chances are high  that the behaviour will
occur again. If the environmental changes produce no reinforcement,
the chances are lessened that the behaviour will recur.
Aspects of Behavioural counselling and therapy
(Contd.)

• 3) Social Learning Approach

It gives prominence to the reciprocal interactions between an
individual’s behaviour and the environment.
• 4) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
It emphasises cognitive processes and private events (such as
client’s self-talk) as mediators of behaviour change.
Process of Behavioural counselling and
therapy
(Blackham and Silberman 4 steps of  Behavioural counselling)

•Defining the problem

The clients are asked to specify when, where, how and with whom
the problem arises

•Taking a developmental history

Knowledge about how the client has handled past circumstances
Process of Behavioural counselling and
therapy
(Blackham and Silberman 4 steps of  Behavioural counselling)

•Establish specific goals

Counsellors help clients break down goals into small, achievable goals

• Determine the best method for change

Helping the client to reach the desired goal by choosing the appropriate method. Continuous
assessment of the effectiveness of the method is must
Techniques of Behavioural counselling and therapy

Systematic desensitization:
• This is a Behavioural experiments technique used specifically with phobias and
other faulty behavior. It helps the client to pair relaxation with previously
feared stimuli. Moreover, it “teaches” the client a new thing by pairing
relaxation with something they fear
Aversive therapy:
• It is a Behavioural experiments method and has the client pair some
aversive stimuli (e.g., nausea, pain, disturbing images, etc.) with some
behaviour that he/she is having difficulty giving up.  For example, Quit
drinking might take a drug that makes her nauseous whenever she drinks
alcohol.  It “teaches” a new thing by pairing a bad experience with some
behaviour they want to eliminate.
Techniques of Behavioural counselling and therapy

Behaviour Modification programs:

• These are self management training approaches try to increase
positive behaviour and decrease negative behaviour by using
reinforcements and punishments in the most effective ways
based on learning principles. Although, the counselor will try to
help the parents identify in what ways the undesired behaviour
is being reinforced and eliminate that reinforcement and help
them develop ways to reinforce desired behaviour.
Techniques of Behavioural counselling and therapy

Use of Reinforcers:
Reinforcers are those events which increase the probability of
occurrence of a desired behaviour in the future by applying
consequences that depend on the behaviour in question.
• Positive Reinforcement: The administration of positive
consequences to workers who perform desired behaviours- Pay,
promotions, interesting work, praise, awards
• Negative Reinforcement: The removal of negative consequences
when workers perform desired behaviours-Nagging,
complaining
Punishment:
• Administering negative consequences to undesirable
behaviours in an effort to decrease the probability that the
behaviour will occur again in the future.
Shaping:
• It is a process in which undifferentiated operant behaviours are
gradually changed into a desired behaviour pattern by the
reinforcement of success approximations, so that the behaviour
gets closer and closer to the target behaviour.
Modelling:
• It involves learning through observation and imitation of others. Having a
positive role model can give individuals something to aim for, allowing them to
change their behaviour to match theirs. However, this role model may be the
therapist or someone the individual already knows
Extinction:
• When pairing of conditioned and unconditional stimulus stops then association
weakens and conditioned response becomes less frequent till it disappears.
Role playing-
• It used to identify their own feelings surrounding a given situation while
simultaneously learning how others may feel. A very nice demonstration to
learn this process is in the Youtube video.
• Punishment:
• Administering negative consequences to undesirable behaviours in an effort to decrease the probability that the
behaviour will occur again in the future.
• Shaping:
• It is a process in which undifferentiated operant behaviours are gradually changed into a desired behaviour pattern by
the reinforcement of success approximations, so that the behaviour gets closer and closer to the target behaviour.
• Modelling:
• It involves learning through observation and imitation of others. Having a positive role model can give individuals
something to aim for, allowing them to change their behaviour to match theirs. However, this role model may be the
therapist or someone the individual already knows
• Extinction:
• When pairing of conditioned and unconditional stimulus stops then association weakens and conditioned response
becomes less frequent till it disappears.
• Role playing-
• It used to identify their own feelings surrounding a given situation while simultaneously learning how others may feel.
A very nice demonstration to learn this process is in the Youtube video.