Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy is the use of learning procedures to eliminate maladaptive behaviors such as schizophrenia, phobias, and anxiety (Myers, 2010, p. 652; Passer & Smith, 2010, p. 592). Behavior therapy is based on the thinking that observable behavior is the problem, rather than a symptom of some invisible, underlying issue (Passer & Smith, 2010, p. 592). Behavior therapy helps people to unlearn some behaviors such as fear of public speaking or anxiety. It can also help in arresting other conditions such as autism.
The major approaches used in behavior therapy are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning which conditions the learner to associate two unrelated stimuli and anticipate events (Myers, 2010, p. 290). For example, a child learns to associate the voice of his or her mother with breast milk, especially if the mother was away for work. Operant conditioning involves reinforcing desired behavior while punishing undesirable behavior until an organism has learned to do only the desirable behavior. Unlike in classical conditioning where the organism does not control the events, in operant conditioning, the organism controls the events by choosing its behavior accordingly (Myers, 2010). For example, a reward of candy for a child for not making noise creates an association between the candy and quietness. The child has control over the award of the candy by altering their behavior in order to receive the candy.
Behavior therapy utilizes the learning principles above in modifying behavior. The specific techniques used are aversive conditioning, systematic desensitization, and exposure therapy.
In aversive therapy, the goal is to substitute an undesirable response to a harmful stimulus (such as alcohol) for a desirable behavior. This can be achieved by associating the unwanted behavior with unpleasant consequences (Myers, 2010, p. 654). For example, to stop nail biting, the nails could be painted with pepper-laced polish. The hot, bitter taste experienced when the person attempts to bite the nail will discourage the behavior.
Systematic desensitization is similar to aversive therapy except that the target stimulus is harmless. It is a technique in which the stimulus which produces a negative response is gradually introduced to the subject in the presence of the desired response. With time, the organism gets used to the stimulus.
Exposure therapy involves a therapist helping a person with phobias or anxiety to overcome their fears or anxiety. The therapist puts the person in a safe environment and can use imagination or virtual reality tools to assist the patient learn the appropriate way to react to the situations and activities causing him or her to be fearful or anxious (APA, n.d.)
Biomedical Therapy
Biomedical therapy is a method of treating serious psychological disorders. It involves using medications and other medical procedures to physically change the brain’s functioning or alter its circuitry (Myers, 2010, p. 671). Drug therapy, brain stimulation, and psychosurgery are the main approaches of administering biomedical therapy. The goal of biomedical therapy is to alter the patient’s nervous system in a way that eliminates the disorder thus producing the desired effects.
In drug therapy, drugs are used to treat psychoses (hallucinations and other reality-distortion disorders), anxiety, depression, and mood instability. The drugs work by either suppressing certain central nervous system activities or changing the function of neurotransmitters in the brain. Some of the drugs take time to take effect. In addition, the drugs do not produce lasting effects. Patients, therefore, have to take them regularly. The drugs, however, produce serious side effects such as weight gain and may lead to dependence on them.
Patients who do not respond to drug therapy can benefit from brain stimulation using a technique called electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In ECT, electric current is briefly delivered to a patient’s brain for a period up to four weeks. This technique has been found to produce better results than drug therapy for treating severe depression (Myers, 2010, p. 676).
The convulsions produced by ECT makes the technique unpopular. As a result, gentler techniques such as magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation have been developed. In magnetic stimulation, pulses are passed through a magnetic coil held close to a person’s skull. The procedure is painless and produces no side effects such as convulsions and memory loss, which accompany ECT. In deep brain stimulation, electrodes and a “pacemaker” are implanted into a person’s brain to excite or calm down neurons in a particular area.
Psychosurgery, which is the removal of brain tissue, is an extreme measure of changing behavior. It is used to treat violent seizures and excessive compulsive disorder (Myers, 2010, p. 678). Psychosurgery works by removing or cutting the link between areas of the brain that produce the unwanted behavior. Lobotomy is an example of a psychosurgery procedure that was invented in the 1930s. It has since been discarded. However, techniques that use laser beams to operate the brain without requiring the opening up of one’s skull may revolutionize psychosurgery.
References
Americal Psychological Association (n.d.). What is exposure therapy? Retrieved from http://www.div12.org/sites/default/files/WhatIsExposureTherapy.pdf
Myers, D. G. (2010). Psychology. Newyork, NY: Worth
Passer, M. W. & Smith, R. E. (2009). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior. Boston: McGraw-Hill
