essential components of behavioural therapy

Last reviewed 01/2018

Common components of behavioural therapies include:-

- designed to modify current, observable behaviours

- behavioural analysis - this part of the behavioural therapy seeks to identify the Antecedents of a particular symptom, the problem Behaviour (the behavioural manifestations of the symptom), the Consequences of for the patient and those around him.

- treatment regimes are designed cooperatively between the patient and the therapist.

- active recruitment of the patient into the treatment programme with patient participation in the identification of the goals of the programme.

- the patient keeps a diary in order to record the duration and severity of the symptoms.

- measurement of the target behaviour before, during and after the treatment is undertaken by the therapist. This is done to evaluate the appropriateness of a particular therapeutic technique and monitoring the progress of the treatment.

- the patient undertakes homework tasks between each treatment session.

- there is recruitment of co-therapists from the patients friends and relatives in order to accompany and encourage the patient in his set homework tasks.

Note that behaviour therapy usually results in an extinction burst, where the undesired behaviour increases in frequency at the commencement of the therapy. Some therapists will suggest that, especially in children, if an extinction burst doesn't take place then the therapy is not actually working.