Exposure and Behavoiral Therapies
Final Essay
Exposure and Behavioral Therapies
December 12, 2006
In psychotherapy there are many different ways that a therapist can decide how to treat a client. In my paper I will discuss how Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy work together with a client. I will focus on the nature of the problem, the process of change, theory in practice, multicultural considerations, and the types of clients and clinical problems.
The Nature of the Problem: In both Exposure and Behavioral Therapy the main focus is on anxiety. These anxieties area conditioned response (Prochaska & Norcross, 2005, p.238 & 264). In Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy the client avoids situation where there will be confrontation or fear where it could be provoked. By avoiding things in their lives the client then is not able to function fully because the avoidance has taken over their lives. People learn what their anxieties are. If a client got bite by a dog when they were a child that is where they anxiety started. For then on the client then may avoid going by dogs for the fear that they may get bitten again. Foa and exposure therapists conceptualize anxiety-based psychopathologies in terms of both the traditional behavioral theory and an emotional processing theory. The emotional processing theory proposes that special efforts are required to process the traumatic event, and that the completion of this process is necessary for recovery (Prochaska & Norcross, 2005, p. 238). Accordingly, Foa 's exposure therapy aims both to reverse the behavioral conditioning and to correct the client 's erroneous cognitive and emotional process (Prochaska & Norcross, 2005, p. 238).
The Process of Change: In Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy the therapist gradually confronts the clients fear. The therapist will expose whatever the feared stimulus is to the client it stages. The therapist acts as an active and directive teacher Corey, 2005, p. 478) or firm parent to the client (Prochaska
Exposure and Behavioral Therapies
December 12, 2006
In psychotherapy there are many different ways that a therapist can decide how to treat a client. In my paper I will discuss how Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy work together with a client. I will focus on the nature of the problem, the process of change, theory in practice, multicultural considerations, and the types of clients and clinical problems.
The Nature of the Problem: In both Exposure and Behavioral Therapy the main focus is on anxiety. These anxieties area conditioned response (Prochaska & Norcross, 2005, p.238 & 264). In Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy the client avoids situation where there will be confrontation or fear where it could be provoked. By avoiding things in their lives the client then is not able to function fully because the avoidance has taken over their lives. People learn what their anxieties are. If a client got bite by a dog when they were a child that is where they anxiety started. For then on the client then may avoid going by dogs for the fear that they may get bitten again. Foa and exposure therapists conceptualize anxiety-based psychopathologies in terms of both the traditional behavioral theory and an emotional processing theory. The emotional processing theory proposes that special efforts are required to process the traumatic event, and that the completion of this process is necessary for recovery (Prochaska & Norcross, 2005, p. 238). Accordingly, Foa 's exposure therapy aims both to reverse the behavioral conditioning and to correct the client 's erroneous cognitive and emotional process (Prochaska & Norcross, 2005, p. 238).
The Process of Change: In Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy the therapist gradually confronts the clients fear. The therapist will expose whatever the feared stimulus is to the client it stages. The therapist acts as an active and directive teacher Corey, 2005, p. 478) or firm parent to the client (Prochaska