“Behaviourists Explain Maladaptive Behaviour in Terms of the Learning Principles That Sustain and Maintain It. Discuss This Statement and Show How a Behaviourist’s Approach to Therapy Is in Stark Contrast to a Psychoanalytic One”.

An example of this is learning how to ride a bike for the first time. You first watch someone over and over again and then you repeat it. Treatment for behavioral abnormalities is a bit different than other abnormality treatments. Instead of the therapist trying to heal someone, they become a teacher instead, to try to teach the client a few techniques and skills to overcome the abnormality. This is also called systematic desensitization. The next model of understanding abnormalities is the cognitive model. What this model conveys is that our cognitive processes are the center in everything we do, meaning our thoughts, behaviors and emotions. If there is abnormal functioning in this part of the model, many clients will begin to make assumptions of their lives and even begin to mimic certain attitudes that are very distressing and faulty. Illogical thinking processes may have an effect too, since it will then cause the idea of overgeneralization, in which a person will think negatively about themselves and feel bad over a certain event that was really insignificant. Treatment for those with cognitive abnormalities is called cognitive therapy, which is basically just getting clients

Within this model the counselor can employ a wide range of techniques to achieve the behavioural objectives agreed, these include - challenging irrational beliefs, rehearsing different self statements, experimentation of self statements in real situations and systematic desensitization (Mcleod 2008). Behavioural therapist work on changing behaviour and it’s assumed that changes in feeling and thinking will follow.

Behaviourist approach has may strengths to its findings, there has a been a vast amount of experiments from other theorists that support the theory. However, many weaknesses can be highlighted. One is how using rewards or other means to shape behaviour can be argued that the individual is only motivated for these rewards which can encourage a shallow and materialistic style. Another limitation that can be mentioned is that that behaviourist research was widely carried out on animals, for instance Skinner’s rats, Watson’s cats and Pavlov’s dogs. We cannot compare human behaviour to that of an animal. We cannot be 100% certain that humans would act the same way as the animals experimented on (McLeod,2017). As well as this, another criticism states how even though you can change someone’s behaviour in one environment, what happens when the individual goes to a different environment where positive behaviour isn’t reinforced. O’Brien gives an example of if a teacher changed a challenging child’s behaviour at school but then the child went home to the same environment as before, the child would find it increasingly hard to stick to the changed behaviour (O’Brien 2016). I feel that I can relate to this with a child I have in my class. I have managed through positive reinforcement to change his behaviour that he showed in previous classes, however when communicating with his carer it is noted that his previous behaviour is still present in his home environment.

Clinical psychologists treat those whose thought patterns and behaviours are a threat to their own wellbeing and potentially a threat to others. By using techniques such as observation and interviews, clinical psychologists will assess a patients problem and use this information to provide suitable treatment. Treatments through this pathway require the patients cooperation to both analyse and manage their condition (Health Careers, 2016). Whilst conducting treatments with

The basic assumption of the behaviourist approach is that all behaviour is learned through experiences a person has in their environment. From this we know that behaviourists are on the side of nature in the “nature vs. nurture” debate. In comparison bio psychologists will be firmly on the side of nurture.

"The behaviourist approach has been a dominant influence in psychology, it represents one of the ‘hardcore' approaches, which has contributed a great deal to our understanding of psychological functioning " (Malim & Birch, 1998)

As a result, the usefulness of any therapy depends on the client, the therapist, and the nature of their relationship. In behavioral therapy based on operational unconditional or operant conditioning, it’s important for both the client and the therapist to reach a clear understanding about positive and negative behaviors and their rewards or consequences. Behavioral therapy seeks to change the behaviors associated with psychological problems using exposure treatments, such as systematic desensitization, implosion therapy, and flooding. What makes psychotherapy an effective treatment? 1) Support, is the success, regarding to a number of identifiable factors. The identifiable factors, are about people struggling with depression and self-doubt. (Psychotherapy may provide a welcome dose of acceptance, empathy, and encouragement). Many therapists, think carefully by providing support. The therapists first and foremost decision is before and when to tackle a task, of clients. 2). In Hope, to develop a communicable, visual sight, the light, towards at the end of the tunnel. The expectation, things will get better. 3) A New perspective, therapists will give their clients the opportunities and ability to recognize alternative solution(s) of the situation, circumstance at hand. 4). Motivation, (Therapists sometimes explain a client’s lack of response to treatment by saying that the client was not “ready to do the work.”), The patient, as a client must and willing get motivated. For the reasons, willing to put efforts and time, as measures require. Therapy, isn’t a passive process, it does get better. My closest friend, Kristy Rudolph. owns phobia’s and has a panic disorder, called. Agoraphobia, a very intense fear(s) of herself, being in a situation, being in a circumstance(s), from which, she won’t be capable, as able to escape. She, developed these fears, will occur, any given moment, fears of it happening, to

     All of the information on the different types of therapies has helped me to more fully understand psychology. This chapter is dedicated to explaining the current methods of treating people with psychological disorders in order to help them through a rough time in life. This chapter on therapy shows the side of psychology that is the result of the hard work of a multitude of psychologists and doctors.

In several ways, solution-focused therapy reminded me of behaviorism. This is especially true from the aspect of not examining the past. Norcross and Prochaska state in Systems of Psychotherapy: A Transtheoretical Analysis (8th ed), “We

I assume a behavioral theoretical orientation towards client treatment. Because of my orientation, I do not view behavior necessarily as signs of an underlying dysfunction, but rather the target of therapy itself. My approach to therapy is not that the person has something fundamentally wrong, that needs to be fixed. Instead, I view the client not from a variable-centered approach, but from a person-centered approach. I understand the client as someone who comes to therapy because they are struggling with behavior that is currently not serving an adaptive function.

Behavioural Psychology originated in the late 19th to early 20th century and was concerned with the prediction and control of the observable, measurable, external aspects of human experience. Behaviourist psychologists rejected the introspective method used by previous philosophers and psychologists and instead relied on using observation and data that was objective and empirical. This is known as an anti-mentalist approach; Behaviourists considered the workings of the mind

Whereas the psychodynamic model began looking at the clinical work of physicians the behavioural model began in laboratories experimenting on behavioural conditioning, using stimuli and rewards, observing how their manipulations affected the responses of the individual they were studying. This model unlike the psychodynamic model can be tested and it is because of this that this model holds more weighting than the psychodynamic model when trying to understand ‘abnormal’ behaviour. However this model is not without its weaknesses as there is no evidence that individuals that display ‘abnormal’ behaviour are victims of improper conditioning. Behaviourists would argue that ‘abnormal’ functioning is learnt behaviour, and not environmental or genetic, the

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology - Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed.

It is inevitable that in psychotherapy there are numerous theories. Theories arise out of scholarly investigations of ideas on human behavior. Human behavior is an extraordinarily interesting subject and therefore produces a plethora of ideas from a variety of theorists. These theorists are influenced by their education, culture, and time period. One influential theorist is Carl Rogers. His contributions to human behavior have changed many of the theories that preceded him, and his theory contributed to many theories that followed.

Behaviorism has been credited with providing clear predictions that can be scientifically tested and yield explanations that can be supported by evidence. For instance, in the application of Applied Behavioral Analysis in improving clients’ behaviors, the functions of individuals problematic behaviors can be evaluated and modified using behavior change principles including reinforcement. Similarly, behaviorism emphasizes the objective measurement of behaviors through providing clear and conceptual definitions, and its therapy is applicable to real life situations as in the case of anxiety. Conversely, studies incorporated into behaviorism allow for appropriate comparisons between animals and humans as in the Case of Watson’s, Thorndike’s and Pavlov’s studies respectively.