Behavioral Therapy College Essays Samples For Students

Behavioral therapy refers to a therapy which is deeply rooted in behaviorism principles. Behaviorism focuses on the idea that people learn from their environment and the ultimate in behavioral therapy is to eliminate maladaptive behaviors and at the same time reinforce desirable behaviors. The techniques used in behavioral therapy have a strong basis on operant conditioning and classical conditioning theories. Unlike other kinds of therapy which have strong roots in insight, behavioral therapies are action based. It focuses on using similar learning strategies which results in the formation of unwanted or maladaptive behaviors and other new behaviors. As a result of this, behavioral therapy ...

Psychotherapy for Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders entail symptoms of extreme nervous conditions causing high levels of distress consequently interfering with a person's normal daily life. People suffering from Anxiety disorders are always in constant fear and worry and later, if left untreated, depression. As the most common of all emotional disorders, Anxiety disorders affect over 25 million Americans according to the American Psychological Association report (2009). In the effort to obtain relief from these symptoms, some patients opt to indulge in drug and alcohol abuse. This indulgence affects their performance both at school and work as well as their social relationships .
Most common ...

The effective use of cognitive behavioral therapy on immigrant women struggling with domestic violence

I. Introduction

Background

The impact of globalization has greatly increased the number of immigrants. The surge in the number of immigrants is projected to be on the rise especially within major geographical locations of the world. According to the UN population division, half of these immigrants are women while in some locations; the number of women immigrants forms the overwhelming majority. Migration is therefore one of the factors that have been linked to women vulnerability. Through migration, women become more dependent on their racial communities, families, employers, and husbands. Violence against women has been identified to be a special risk for ...

According to the National Institutes of Health, 61.5 million Americans experience mental illness annually while around 13 million have to live with a serious mental condition, like depression and bipolar disorder (as cited in National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2013). One of the ways to deal with these conditions is the use of psychological therapies. Psychological therapy takes different forms, such as interpersonal therapy, family-focused therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Among these therapies, the most predominant is the last one, cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. The National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists (n.d.) states ...

Today people are living in a very distraught environment and are surrounded by a number of problems. This stress caused by several factors, crosses the limit sometimes and people start suffering from several mental or psychological disorders. Such disorders are sometimes genetic but they are also due to inferred by highly stressed life of a person. If today’s life has produced such mental problems, today’ development in medical science and psychotherapy provides the remedy for such psychological disorders. In this paper we would discuss the several aspects and methods of treating the psychological disorders.
Cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy ...

Introduction

Gambling addiction is a problem characterized by persistent and repeated gambling behavior leading to distress. The paper will be a descriptive essay concerning gambling addiction in the United States and Canada, its effects, and treatment. The things that will be found interesting are the number of people of gambling disorder, the reason for the problem, and its effects. The reason why the topic is important is because of the high number of people gamble without knowing how gambling disorder is developed and the effects of gambling. Two sources will be used in writing the essay: a journal article by ...

There are many different kinds of counseling options available to people who need help dealing with the things that happen to them. Choosing the right therapeutic option can be very important for an individual’s recovery; many people do not realize it, but like physical illness, mental illness is frequently something that cannot be cured by thought and hope alone. Overcoming the stigma of mental illness and seeking treatment for mental illness is very difficult for many people; it is important for mental health professionals to remind patients that if they were ill or had a broken bone, they would ...

Mental illness is a term that describes abnormality or psychological arrangement that is in theory reflected in behavior – mental and emotional behavior (Green, 590). This disorder can occur for a number of years while this behavior can be linked with disability and distress the period and intensity of the indicators varies from one person to the other. How a person acts, feels and thinks forms the basis for mental disorder and do not always follow a regular pattern. This anomaly can be linked with certain regions and functions of the medulla oblongata or even the nervous system, occasionally in a social form. These symptoms ...

Models of abnormality are frameworks that assist in explaining the behavioral, cognitive, biological and psychodynamics of individuals (Sue, Sue & Sue). Additionally, the models help to explain why illnesses occur and the treatments associated with these illnesses. Each model presents a different approach to resolving the psychological illness that an individual may be going through. For the purposes of this paper, the behavioral and cognitive models will be discussed, compared and contrasted.

Behavioral Model

The behavioral model in psychology is typically expressed as an alternative to the conventional medical frameworks that are used to explain individual behaviors. The therapies that are governed ...

While much has been hypothesized regarding paranoia, it is of the essence to note that it mainly connotes to a condition whereby an individual develops a feeling of suspicion towards others. Precisely, persons suffering from paranoia tend to harbor the thoughts that other people are against them. In fact, paranoid individuals tend to think that other people intend to harm them (Sarkar et al., 2012). As a result, paranoia makes people develop certain behaviors aligned to being highly conscious. A reflection on the lives of every individual depicts the fact that at one time in life, an individual develops ...

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Quite often, people experience anxiety when faced with a difficult situation, and the anxiety ends once the situation is resolved. Occasional anxiety is a common phenomenon that people face especially before undertaking tasks for which they have little confidence in accomplishing. Besides, whenever confronted with the need to make important decisions, people tend to experience anxiety over the possible consequences of such decisions. In general, anxiety occurs when one is facing a difficult situation, has to make a difficult decision, or is about to carry out a task that one has no confidence in accomplishing successfully. In all these ...

Introduction

In today’s hectic lifestyles, it is common for people to experience circumstances that are very difficult to handle. No individual is immune to challenges and it is these problems that enable people to grow and mature. The manner in which people deal with these problems differs markedly. According to Crabb (1977), people react to difficulties in life with feelings of guilt, anxiety or resentment. Counseling can help an afflicted person to deal with life’s challenges. The American Counseling Association’s mission is to improve the societal quality of life through enabling professional counselors to develop, advancing counseling ...

Introduction

Psychotherapy denotes a treatment technique combined with other forms of medications to treat and elevate mental illness. It supports patients with a mental disorder to comprehend behaviors, emotions, or ideas that can be because of their condition. Equally, it aids individuals to regain control and the techniques to manage their status. Bestowing to Sreevani (2008), there are several models that could be adopted in therapy and they depend on the therapist, style, or personality of the patient. These models include cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, supportive psychotherapy and interpersonal therapy (Sreevani, 2008).
Behavioral therapy is designed to benefit a patient to unlearn ...

Introduction

Oniomania refers to a compulsive desire for shopping which is irresistible. Oniomania is also known as CBD or Compulsive Buying Behavior, shopaholism, shopping addiction and compulsive shopping. About 2 to 8% of adult population in USA is reported to be suffering from the disorder and about 90% of them are women. Individuals suffering from Oniomania shop impulsively and are unable to resist their craze for buying. This impulsive buying behavior leads to problems in marriage, occupation, interpersonal and spiritual distress and most damaging of all dire financial crunch. According to many researchers, compulsive shopping disorder can be compared with the ...

Personality Disorders are a type of mental illness that includes a wide range of problems dealing with the world at large, and a number of perception problems that make living an ordinary modern life very difficult for the sufferers. There is a certain stigma attached to these kinds of disorders that often keeps sufferers from seeking treatment. The name applied to this group of disorders is misleading, since "personality," in common usage, tends to connote some kind of control or willfulness on the part of the sufferer – this leads many people to think that the sufferer is somehow at fault for the illness. ...

Forensic Psychology: the effectiveness of Offending Behavior Programmes

Introduction

Rehabilitation among offenders is achievable through deployment of various programs considered suitable in the context of the offender. One of such rehabilitative approaches is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is more of a psychotherapeutic strategy with a principal objective of solving problems associated with dysfunctional emotions and behaviors in an orderly methodology that is goal oriented (Dattilio & Freeman, 2007). In the context of rehabilitation, CBT focuses on behavior therapy. Research studies have reported that CBT is one of the most effective rehabilitation strategies among offenders with minimal cases of recidivism. A key objective behind rehabilitation is to ensure that the offenders ...

Introduction

A recent report of the International Longevity Center-UK (ILC-UK) indicated that dementia can no longer be viewed as an isolated disorder due to a high prevalence of medical comorbidities, often undiagnosed, associated with it (Scrutton & Brancati, 2016). Patients with dementia also had received a less coordinated comorbidity treatments, resulting to the faster decline of their daily functioning, a reduction in their quality of life (QOL), and earlier mortality events than patients with these comorbidities, but in the absence of dementia.
The report also noted other important findings, which exacerbated the need for better therapeutic options in dealing with dementia, ...

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Excessive computer use is increasingly becoming a worldwide social problem. The excessive use, otherwise known as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) has resulted in a situation where individuals lack adequate socialization skills. Surveys in developed countries such as the US and Europe indicate an alarming prevalence rate among children. There have been numerous proposed solutions aimed at addressing the issue. The aim of this section is to offer a brief overview of these methods and offer reasons for their ineffectiveness.
The main reason for the overall ineffectiveness is that children consider the computer and internet as cool technologies. Thus, one ...

Introduction

Though personality disorders are described by researchers as being widespread and incapacitating, there have been developments in the field, and they have focused on understanding this disorder with intent to treat (Lenzenweger, 2008). Settling on a comprehensive definition, assessment approaches and the management of these disorders has been problematic because of the varying dimensions and impacts to individuals and the general society (Clarkin, Lenzenweger & Meehan, 2015). According to Widiger (2003), individuals often have self-distinguishing approaches to creating and developing relationships, expressing their feelings and thinking. On the same, while some people are outgoing, others have been described as being ...

The contemporary world is rigged with a vast array of social challenges that affect our daily lives. These challenges include depression, eating disorders, substance use, personality disorders as well as anxiety disorders. In light of these challenges, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy commonly referred to as CBT was conceived in a bid to curb these challenges. This essay thus seeks to provide a succinct and in-depth analysis of the central western concept of CBT and its relation to nonwestern cultures.
Foremost, Cognitive behavioral therapy is a blend of behavioral as well as cognitive therapy. Changing an individual`s emotions directly is undoubtedly a difficult task. ...

Definition

Panic disorder refers to a disorder whereby an individual experiences sudden and spontaneous attacks of anxiety and fear. The panic attacks lead to agoraphobia, which is the feeling of anxiety that one gets for the fear of being in situations where one cannot get help in case of a panic attack. These situations include, but not limited to, being in crowds, being left alone or being near bridges.

Clark’s theory of catastrophic interpretations

According to Clark’s theory, panic attacks are caused by faulty and maladaptive interpretations of the sensations within the body. For example, sensations that are normal to healthy individuals can be perceived as ...

Research Article Structure

The key sections typically used in research articles include (1) the introduction/background, (2) literature review, (3) methods, (4) results, (5) discussion, and (6) the conclusion. The introduction and literature review are sometimes not distinguished as separate sections. The choice of sections will also depend on the research topic and aims, and each section can introduce more subsection, but all research articles need to discuss the study aims and their hypotheses in the first section of the article. For example, a study on exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by Hembree et al. (2003) presents previous research on exposure therapy ...

Substance abuse contributes to a variety of social problems, including social disorders, disease transmission, family disorders, and criminal behavior. A variety of biological, psychological, and social factors are potential causes of addictive behavior. Therefore, it is important to resolve the causes relevant to each individual in order to resolve addiction. Long-term success is achieved only when the causes of addiction are addressed, but treatments also need to consider short-term goals like preventing relapse during the withdrawal stage.
Biological influences can make individuals susceptible to substance abuse. Various studies identified chromosomal regions in the human genome that can cause physiological ...

Psychology

Warm greetings!
I have written to your office to endorse my former student who applied for the counselor post in your community mental health center. As her former training director, I believe that I am capable of sharing with you her competencies as a rightful candidate for the counselor position. I have known the applicant for more than four (4) years while pursuing her graduate work in Counseling Psychology. She recently graduated her Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology with community mental health as her main field of specialization. She was a consistent A-student since she started her graduate work. ...

Government, on behalf of society, has long grappled with discovering ways to protect communities from sexual offenders while, at the same time, determine effective ways to treat the offenders. Sexual offenses span a wide range of behaviors from public indecency to fondling to buying or selling children for the purposes of prostitution.
One difficulty in creating services for sex offenders is that as a group they are as heterogeneous as the general population. No distinct group of causal factors has been identified, and there are numerous types of offenders. Sexual offenders come from every segment of our society, may be any ...

Introduction

Operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning is type of learning which involves the modification of individual’s behavior through consequences. Individual’s behavior might be maneuvered in strength, frequency and form. Based on bedroom reading, being in bed means one is reading while in his or her bed. This is usually a good way of getting to sleep especially when reading is boring. It does not necessarily means that one is seated but also lying in bed. Being in bed and asleep means that one is in bed and he or she is totally slumbering. That is, his or her common ...

Major depression is another term for clinical depression and is characterized by mood changes. It is a serious mental disorder that may be a single episode or a chronic condition affecting the lifestyle of the individual by taking away his interest in pleasurable activities. People who suffer from this condition have a sense of hopelessness and despair. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 6.7% of the U.S. population aged over 18 are affected by major depression and approximately 20% to 25% of adults may have suffered an episode of major depression in their lifetime .
Three types of causes have ...

dates and time
Part of each country’s criminal justice system is to both punish and try to rehabilitate offenders, either convicted in prison or under community supervision, so they can return to the society and be integrated with it in the smoothest and most effective way. Actually, punishment and rehabilitation are part of a four-objective criminal system that also includes deterrence, which alongside punishment and rehabilitation will be further researched throughout this paper in terms of which is more effective. The aforementioned objectives will be discussed taking into consideration the effect they have on the victims and their ...

Psychology Behavior

According to psychological research, behavioral therapy is the treatment therapy that is based on the application of findings from behavioral science research (Butler, Chapman & Forman 2005). The major aim of this psychological therapy is to improve the quality of life for systems, individuals and families in the way they would prefer to change. The major assumptions of the therapy are that despite the significance of the past, the present is the most important in affecting the current behavior. Additionally, the therapy assumes that behavior is learned from the environment. The therapy seeks to improve self-control through the expansion of ...

Question two. The four advantages for participating in the cognitive behavioral training workshop

Cognitive behavioral therapies are associated with an overall improvement in the wellbeing of the employees. Cognitive behavioral therapy affects employee’s well being, job satisfaction, productivity and turnover main advantages of cognitive behavioral training are,
I) An Increase in job satisfaction
Cognitive behavioral training helps employees in changing their attitudes, behaviors and thoughts about work processes. Cognitive behavioral therapy also helps employees in overcoming negative thought processes about their work that results in an overall improvement in their job satisfaction levels.
ii) A decrease in psychological stress and job withdrawal cognizance’s Cognitive behavioral training is ...

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a classification of mental disorders, that is used by mental health professionals. The American Psychiatric Association publishes it. The DSM constitutes a listing of psychiatric disorders and their diagnostic codes. The first DSM was published in 1952, other revisions includes DSM II, DSM III, DSM III-Revised, and DSM IV. The most revised version of the DSM, DSM-IV-Text revision, was published in 2000.

DSM IV has a list of 297 disorders. This version differs from the other DSM versions by including clinical significance criterion to more than half of the categories, which required causes ...

The philosophical basis for the humanistic approach was phenomenology. According to this philosophical perspective, subjective perceptions, feelings, cognitions, experience are more important than objective facts. For example, two people can see the same movie but every person will have a unique subjective perception of this movie. Therefore, humanistic psychologists also believed that every person`s experience is unique and that an individual`s psychology cannot be studied by objective, scientific method such as tests. Also, because of phenomenological ideas humanists believe that one of the main tasks of a therapy is to explore the subjective experiences of a client ( ...

Introduction

In order for the psychiatrists to be able to treat a condition effectively, the specific cause of the condition must be identified in order to come up with the best form of treatment. For example, in order to effectively treat a biological condition, the practitioners must have in place biological forms of treatment in order to treat the cause (King, 2012). With this is clear that the etiologies play a major role in order to come up with the best form of therapy for the patient. This essay will address the various forms of disorders and further stipulate the ...

The human brain is the most complex part of the human body that is very hard to understand. Our brains behave in a way that neuroscientists and psychologists have never understood. Its ability to control body functions and consciousness is one of the most challenging section that these individuals are still struggling to figure out. The human brain capacity of 1350 cc and it is made up of a very complex network of neurons that develop during the last three months of development (The Function of the Human Brain, 2016). The way we perceive the world around us is ...

Psychology

Introduction
For many years, leadership has been the subject of discussion among scholars and the concept of leaderships branches out to several theories that explains its core characteristics. Leadership theories, concepts, and models of application vary according to the professional environment in which a leadership role is warranted. In the field of social work, leadership is an important characteristic that fosters change for the betterment of the population that the profession serves. In this discussion, leadership theories will be examined and linking the concept to approaches and application relevant to the social work profession. In addition, the discussion will ...

Within the health care industry, a unanimous drop has been recorded. Ideally, the recorded backdrop is in the form of the health care reforms, as well as level of medical efficiency in the whole world. Normal livelihood and health care are some of the most essential element of elevating poor economic status hence reducing the level of poverty. Medical care is one of the sectors that demands rapid development strategies since the efficiency of patient care is deteriorating with time (Frey 23). An intensive study indicates that there have emerged renowned technological firms, which re health oriented. These medical technology ...

The Psychodynamic Perspective

The primary focus of this approach in the treatment of patients is to reveal the subconscious and unconscious elements of the client’s or patient’s psych in an effort to treat the patient. The approach heavily relies on the interrelationship between the patient and the therapist. The approach involves several steps in a continuum where the peripheries are the interpretive pole and the supportive pole. From the onset, the therapist takes the patient through seven stages namely; Interpretation, Confrontation, Clarification, Encouragement to elaborate, Empathetic validation, Advice and Praise and finally to Affirmation that is anchored of the supportive pole.
...

Psychotherapy is also known as a talk therapy that treat patients with mental disorders and to help the patients understand their condition. The theories of the psychotherapy are guides to teach the psychologists the strategies and provides effective tools for the patients to manage any symptoms and function better in life. The three important types of psychotherapy are Cognitive Therapy, Behavioral Therapy, and Psychodynamic Therapy.
The theory of cognitive therapy emphasizes much of how a person feel is determined by what he thinks. Therapists consider that the dysfunctional thinking can lead to dysfunctional feelings and actions. For example, depression can ...

Depression has been defined as the process in which an individual experiences low self esteem and dejected. Depression occurs more often to any person in the world. Depression has been defined by many psychologists in time. Sigmund Freud is among the psychologist who contributed in describing what is the meaning of depression. Sigmund Freud is one of the most influential psychologists in the world who is described as the father of psychoanalysis. According to him, depression is the caused by early childhood experiences. He also states how the one losses their objective which in this case can be the ...

Introduction

The research study has been conducted in order to determine the causes of obesity in children and subsequent measures in preventing the disorder. Obesity in children has been on the rise over the recent years due to various factors. According to medical practitioners and researchers on the problem, children obesity has increased significantly as compared to adult obesity. Several causes have been laid down for the increased observed child obesity across the world. For instance, genetic disorder, consumption habits and sedentary life habits among many have been identified as the major factors causing child obesity.
Obesity in children ...

- When assessing a patient, one must use the DSM-IV, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, to determine what psychological disorder one has (Feldman, p. 455). The DSM-IV uses five axes of information in assessing patients. In Axis I, there is contained all the diagnoses of every aspect of a psychological disorder except mental retardation and the personality disorders. These kinds of disorders include anxiety disorders, ADHD, bipolar disorders, depression, schizophrenia, anorexia, bulimia and more. In Axis II, the DSM-IV covers information related to personality disorders and mental retardation. These personality disorders include schizoid, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, ...

The article discussed panic disorders in adolescents. It is fairly common that the onset of panic disorders occur before the onset of adulthood. It is during the period of adolescents that the onset of the disorder may be at its highest prevalence. It is about the mid-range of adolescents where the onset is most common and is more often seen in girls than boys. Although only about one percent of the population suffers from the disorder, for those that have a psychiatric history it is far more prevalent. The range of adolescents that are diagnosed with panic disorders ranges from ...

Pedophilia as a Mental Disorder: Why Pedophiles are not Criminals

A pedophile can be described as an adult person who gets sexually attracted to young people. Pedophiles exhibit behaviors which deviate from what the society expects-especially on sexual behavior. According to medical diagnosis, pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which people who are 16 years of age (and above) have exclusive or primary sexual interest in prepubescent young ones; mostly children of 13 years of age and below. For the attraction to be diagnosed as pedophilia, the prepubescent child must be younger than the adolescent by at least five years (Blaney & Millon, 2009). Although many people view pedophiles as ...

Introduction.

Disaster and violent crime causes severe psychological disturbance with victims experiencing post-traumatic disorder, depressions and anxiety. This calls for systematically comprehensive and integrated intervention techniques.
Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) is a psychological intervention that can be applied to disaster victims, family members and rescue team. .Strict format with seven steps applied. Introduction phase, team leader introduces CISD process, guidelines are set out based on full attendance, voluntary participation and confidentiality .Fact phase immediate issues are identified with participants describing the incident from their own perspective. Thought phase, involves defusing of thoughts individuals expressing their feelings, emotions and exposure ...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an approach of psychotherapeutic. It basically aims at solving problems that concern dysfunctional emotions, cognitions and behaviors via systematic procedure and goal oriented in the present. It is a proven technique of psychotherapy and thus proposes that it is not the events themselves that leads to anxiety and responses of maladaptive but as well individual’s interpretations and expectations of certain events. It proposes that maladaptive behaviors can only be changed by directly dealing with an individual’s beliefs and thoughts. Basically, CBT is a generic term which constitutes varied approaches, more so Cognitive Therapy (CT) ...

PubMedHealth.com refers to causes of anorexia nervosa, not motives. Causes include a desire to be perfect, extreme concern about weight and body shape, eating problems through infancy or childhood, social ideas regarding health and beauty, negative self-image, and having an anxiety disorder during childhood (“PubMedHealth,” 2012).

Other motivations for people with anorexia nervosa include a desire to have control over at least one area of their lives, especially if they feel as if they have no control over other areas of their lives. For example, if a young person’s parents are divorcing, this could be a motivator. Other motivations include a change in ...

The Five-Axis Diagnosis

Axis I- 308.3-Acute stress disorder
Rationale; her body was displaying stress symptoms; she trembled and felt coldness in her hands when she watched her father die.
311 Depressive disorder

Rationale: She displayed depressed mood and the therapist reports that she was depressed

309.21 Separation anxiety disorder

Rationale: she felt depressed, lonely and hopeless because death of her father separated her from the father

Axis II-301.0 Paranoid personality disorder
Rationale-She has had conflicts with the father over her future career and perceives the father as being rejecting and emotionally cold

She is quite unforgiving because since she crossed paths with her father, she had never forgiven him

Axis III- No medical condition
Axis-IV 310.1 Post-traumatic stress disorder
Rationale-After the loss of her father, she felt confused and unable to cope with the loss.
Axis V: GAF 55; GARF 50; SOFAS 55
...