Behavior Therapy Groups

The Practice of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy

“…Only a few authors have addressed applied behaviorism in the context of interpersonal group psychotherapy (Rose, 1977;Upper & Flowers, 1994). Hollander and Kazaoka (1998) suggest that while behavioral approaches generally involve practical interventions, little or no attention has been paid to theoretical or conceptual issues. FAP enables treatment providers who work within a behavioral orientation to have a theoretical structure and format for interpersonally oriented groups.…”

Functional analytic psychotherapy for interpersonal process groups: A behavioral application.

“…Rose (1977) offers mostly structural and applied approaches to group psychotherapy. Flowers and Upper (1994) identify behavioral interventions that can be integrated in groups, and Hollander and Kazaoka (1998) suggest that while behavioral approaches generally involve practical interventions, most often little or no attention is paid to theoretical or conceptual issues.…”

The behavioral model: Social skills training.

“…Behavioral therapy involves the systematic application of experimentally confirmed techniques within a setting that uses an empirical framework. Such an approach encourages the generation of hypotheses related to the nature of the problem behav-ior, the use of techniques most suitable to ameliorate the problem behavior, and the collection of data relevant to evaluation of the utility of these interventions for treating the patient's identified problems (Hollander & Kazaoka, 1988). To some extent, all psychotherapy models adopt a set of hypotheses regarding a theory of the nature of abnormal behavior, the role of the therapist, and the specific techniques that will be effective in ameliorating the behavior.…”

“…It is a commonly held belief that behavioral therapists use only learning theory that contains a concomitant empirical methodology as a conceptual basis for intervention and change (Flowers, 1979). Although this view is not incorrect, there are other theoretical frameworks that affect contemporary behavioral applications (Hollander & Kazaoka, 1988).…”

“…At one time, therapists thought that the learning processes that are used to explain the development and continuation of desirable and functional behavior were the same ones that could sufficiently and parsimoniously explain behaviors labeled as "abnormal"; that is, most manifestations of maladaptive behavior were viewed as either the failure of the individual to learn adaptive coping skills or the sometimes accidental acquisition of unacceptable and often self-defeating behaviors (Hollander & Kazaoka, 1988). However, within the past 10 years, most behavioral therapists have come to accept biological contributions to abnormal behavior.…”