What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Behavioral Therapeutic Treatment

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Behavioral Therapeutic Treatment? Behavioral Therapy is a term used for the types of therapy associated with treating mental health disorders. This form of treatment aims to recognize and help change habits that are potentially self-destructive or unhealthful. Behavioral therapy works on the idea of learning certain reaffirming habits and modifying unhealthy behavior. Treatment also focuses on current issues and how to address them.

What is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is a popular treatment. It combines cognitive therapy with behavioral therapy. Treatment focuses on how people's thoughts and beliefs influence their actions and moods. It often focuses on the current problems of a person and how they can be solved. The long-term goal is to change the thinking and behavioral patterns of a person into those that are healthier.

Who can benefit from Behavioral Therapeutic Treatment?

Behavioral therapy can support a wide array of conditions. People seek behavioral therapy most commonly for the treatment of:

• anger issues
• anxiety
• depression
• panic disorders

It can also aid in treating conditions and disorders like:

• ADHD
• bipolar disorder
• eating disorders
• phobias, including social phobias
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• self-harm
• substance abuse

Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy for Children

Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy is widely used with children. Therapists can gain insight into what a child is uncomfortable expressing or unable to communicate by watching the children play. Children can choose their toys and play around freely. They may be asked to draw a picture, or use toys in a sandbox to create scenes. Parents may be taught by therapists how to use play to improve communication with their children.

Studies have shown that play therapy is beneficial in children between 3 and 12 years of age. However, this therapy is increasingly used successfully in treating people of all ages. 

Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Play Therapy involves teaching children different ways to respond more positively to situations. Naturally it might take some time for children to trust their counselor. They will eventually warm up if they feel that they can express themselves without consequences. Children with autism and ADHD often take advantage of behavioral therapy.

Analysis of applied behavior analysis is shown to be successful in teaching children different ways to respond positively. It also rewards positive conduct and punishes negative conduct. Applied behavior analysis analyzes behavior and teaches children different ways to react to situations positively. Play therapy is precisely that, it allows younger children to act on their issues through role-playing or to interact with common everyday issues of dolls and sensory objects. Children with behavioral problems need therapy which helps them to express themselves without repercussions and then develop their level of trust with the counselor gradually. Once this is done, the child will start learning the triggers for their behavior, what the trigger points are and how to cope with them once they occur.

Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy allows the therapists to gain insight into what a child is uncomfortable expressing or unable to communicate by watching the children play. Children can choose their toys and play around freely. They may be asked to draw a picture, or use toys in a sandbox to create scenes. Parents may be taught by therapists how to use play to improve communication with their children.

Studies have shown that play therapy is beneficial in children between 3 and 12 years of age. However, this therapy is increasingly used in people of all ages.

Other Types of Therapy involve:

System Desensitization

The desensitization of the system is heavily dependent upon classical conditioning. It is often used for treating phobias. Individuals are advised to substitute a fear response with calming answers to a phobia. The relaxation and breathing techniques are first taught to a person. Once mastered, while practicing these techniques, the therapist will slowly expose them to their fear of increased doses.

Aversion therapy

Aversion therapy is commonly used to address problems like substance abuse and alcoholism. This works by encouraging people to associate a stimulus with an extremely unpleasant stimulus, which is beneficial but harmful. The unpleasant stimulus may provoke discomfort. For example, a therapist might teach you to associate an unpleasant memory with alcohol.

Is Behavioral Therapy successful?

Behavioral therapy has been successfully used to treat a large number of conditions. It's considered to be incredibly effective. About 75 percent of people entering cognitive behavioral therapy experience some treatment benefits. One Source study found cognitive-behavioral therapy to be the most effective for treatment:

• anxiety disorders
• general stress
• bulimia
• anger control problems
• somatoform disorders
• depression
• substance abuse