BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION IN MENTAL HEALTH

The term “Behavior Modification”  was originally coined by practitioners to emphasize the treatment of behavioral deficits  and  excesses per se, rather than the hypothetical psychological states or processes claimed by others to cause human behavior (Ullmann  and Krasner,1965).Behavior change — the implicit or explicit goal of  all psychotherapy — is  conceived of as a learning process;  Behavior  Modification, from the practitioner’s point of view, is thus an  “educational” endeavor (Binder, 1977). Because Behavior Modification refers to outcome rather than method, it does not distinguish between various means of  changing behavior (for example, reinforcement techniques versus chemotherapy or psychosurgery). 

This  ambiguity has led to a good deal of public confusion in recent years. And among professionalpractitioners,terms such as  “behavior therapy,”  “contingency  management,”“learning therapy,” “applied behavior  analysis,”   “applied behaviorism,” “programmed instruction,” and “precision teaching” (which refer to more clearly defined  subcategories of behavioral treatment) are often used  instead of the term …