Techniques of social learning therapy
Behavioral Strategies and Interventions
ACTING AS IF
AVERSION THERAPY
BEHAVIORAL REHEARSAL
BIOFEEDBACK
CONTRACTING
DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING
EXPOSURE
EXPRESSIVE AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
EXTINCTION
FLOODING
MODELING
REASONABLE (NATURAL) CONSEQUENCES
REINFORCEMENTS
RELAXATION
SHAPING
TOKEN ECONOMIES
ACTING AS IF
- When confronting a challenging situation, people "act as if" they are someone who they view as capable of handling the situation effectively
- Planning rewarding activities provide a sense of accomplishment
- Schedules provide focus and direction which can limit confusion and decision making
AVERSION THERAPY
- Linking undesirable behaviors with negative experiences to motivate change
- Example: time-outs, visual imagery, satiation. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 334)
BEHAVIORAL REHEARSAL
- Give people an opportunity to practice a challenging task
- Improve social skills by practicing ways to initiate/maintain conversation
BIOFEEDBACK
- Instruments that monitor bodily functions such as: heart rate, sweat gland activity, and pulse rate
- Promote reductions in tension and anxiety & increase relaxation
CONTRACTING
- Establishing a clear agreement between client and clinician about the goals of treatment and roles of both participants
DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING
- Taking slow, deep breaths, and focusing on breathing can be calming and even induce sleep
EXPOSURE
- Repeated contact with feared or avoided stimulus results in adaptation
- Avoidance reinforces the fear resulting in anxiety
EXPRESSIVE AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
- Art, dance, and music therapy & other forms of creative self-expression
- Enables people to become more aware and give form to their emotions
- Should be used cautiously by clinicians who do not have specialized training in therapeutic use of the arts
EXTINCTION
- Withdrawing the payoff of an undesirable behavior in hopes of reducing or eliminating it
- Example: Parents who give their children extra attention whenever they misbehave may be inadvertently reinforcing undesirable behavior.
- Example: Parents who give their children extra attention whenever they misbehave may be inadvertently reinforcing undesirable behavior.
FLOODING
- People are exposed to high doses of feared stimulus in order to desensitize them
MODELING
- Observing the behavior of others and applying it to one's lifestyle
REASONABLE (NATURAL) CONSEQUENCES
- Reasonable consequences are the logical, usually unpleasant, outcomes of undesirable behavior
- Example: the child who does not pick up her toys before dinner is required to clean her room after dinner instead of watching her favorite television program. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 336)
REINFORCEMENTS
- Rewards and reinforcements that encourage behavior change, enhance learning, and solidify gains
- Reinforcements should be carefully selected and planned; they should be meaningful and worthwhile (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 336-337)
RELAXATION
- Techniques such as systematic desensitization, abdominal breathing, hypnosis, and visual imagery
- Reduces stress and anxiety and make behavioral changes
SHAPING
- Used to effect a gradual change in behaviors
- People make successive approximations of desired behaviors leading to new patterns of behaviors
- For example: Following steps might help people with social anxiety improve their interaction with others
- Spend 5 to 10 minutes at a social gathering. Do not initiate any conversations.
- Spend 5 to 10 minutes at a social gathering and greet at least two people.
- Spend 15 to 20 minutes at a social gathering, greet at least two people, introduce yourself to at least one person, and ask a question of one other person.
- Follow the previous step and, in addition, have a brief conversation about the weather and compliment the host on the food. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 337)
- Clinicians can teach clients both general skills (assertiveness training, decision making, problem solving, communication skills) and those serving the needs of a particular person (interviewing, anger management)
TOKEN ECONOMIES
- Effective way to change a broad range of behaviors in a group of people
- Particularly useful in group settings such as schools, day treatment program, hospitals, prisons, and even families
- Behavioral rules and guidelines first must be established as a reminder for everyone, then recording of one's performance of desired behaviors, then a system of reward is developed
- Example: Certain number of stickers on chart, whole class gets a pizza party (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 337-338)