The Strengths and Criticisms of Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy has made a significant impact on the world of psychotherapy. Since its inception, behavioral therapy has offered a number of different strengths that have challenged other forms of therapy. The first of these, and one of the most scientifically meaningful, is the wide variety of empirically supported techniques used by behavioral therapists.

While this wide range of potential techniques does call for specific assessments in order for the clinician to choose the correct technique, the advantages of being able to specify a technique to a particular patient's situation seem to outweigh the time it takes to decide on a technique or set of techniques. Additionally, these techniques demand that the clinician think ahead in the case and decide on the next course of action before the client arrives. This is not to say that other therapy forms do not also spend time between cases planning; however, behavioral therapy does rival them in that passivity isn't a criticism that can be made, as it can with other forms of therapy. Beyond the empirically supported techniques, and a lack of passivity in planning course of action, behavior therapy also has the added bonus of standardizing their techniques. Technique standardization creates a situation in which other clinical psychologists can administer the same treatment easily, and/or can be trained t administer the same treatment.

Another upside to behavior therapy is it's availability to a broad spectrum of individuals. The psychodynamic approach, one of behavior therapy's biggest opponents, caters more to individuals that have the time and money to go through Freudian psychotherapy, therapy that is conducted on an intensely frequent basis, and is often far too costly for the common citizen. Conversely, behavior therapy offers an alternative that reaches the lower socioeconomic population. Since behavior therapy is so standardized, a variety of techniques can be provided by nurses or other trained professionals, instead of limiting therapy to P.h.D holders only. This cuts mental health costs drastically, and makes behavior therapy significantly more available than other forms of therapy.

Similarly, the efficiency of behavior therapy has allowed for the patient's complaints to be addressed more quickly than other forms of psychotherapy. Behavior therapy focuses on techniques to address current problems, instead of trying to get to the internal root of the problem through years of intense therapy or looking through the patient's long history.

The efficacy of behavior therapy is also extremely high, as the various techniques of behavior therapy cater to a wide variety of disorders. According to Trull (2005), "The majority of meta-analytic studies that have compared the effectiveness of behavioral techniques with that of other forms of psychotherapy (e.g., psychodynamic or client centered) have found a small but consistent superiority for behavioral and cognitive-behavioral methods" (pg. 397).

However, there are still criticisms to be made for behavior therapy, as there are for all forms of therapy and schools of psychological thought. One claim is that behavior therapy has, over the years, sculpted many of their techniques and methods from clinician experience, which is far from the empirical support they claim to have. Advocates of other forms of therapy state that "...many things that behavioral therapists do can be explained equally well by nonbehavioral points of view" (Trull, 2005, pg 402).

One of the more serious criticisms that behavior therapy has received it that it is dehumanizing. First, techniques are sterile, standardized, and mechanistic. This idea about behavior therapy seems, in part, to relate to the terminology used by behavioral therapists. Terms such as "stimulus," "reinforcement," and "response," often gives people a bad feeling, a feeling that the human element is being taken from therapy. Additionally, animals are often used to demonstrate conditioning and a sort of manipulation of behavior that can lead psychologists and clients to feel that the therapy and theories behind it are more concerned with rules and concepts.

Behavior therapy is also said to lack the promotion of internal growth in its clients. Meaning, that while clients leave with a solution to their problem and possible even a couple skills, it fails to make a meaningful impact on the person internally. The therapy does not offer time or room for growth, which in turn leads to the patient's lack of deeper understanding into their problems. In the case of new cognitive behavioral therapy, this is less of a factor, however, the criticism seems to be fairly valid for behavior therapy as a whole, especially since problems are often addressed, and then the therapist moves on to another issue. This pace and problem oriented therapy can leave the client without a complete understanding of the problem and its internal roots. This also seems to address of the problem with behavior therapy and nonspecific problems. Since behavior therapy is meant to address a specific problem and get the patient through it, it is hard to use the therapy in the treatment of a vague or ill-defined problem. The rebuttal to this specific complaint has yet to surface, and can be taken as one of the behavior therapy's true short comings.

Lastly, although there are others that can be addressed, is the lack of one specific theory to guide therapists in treatment. This lack of theory does, in fact, help to provide the wide range of techniques available. However, it also serves as a hindrance to therapists seeking a method of behavioral therapy that's right for them. There are simply too many theories out there claiming to be behavioral theories. Again, this is a true problem with the behavioral approach, but not a deal breaker. A clinician can organize their thoughts, learn about techniques, and gain experience to help them best work their psychological viewpoint of choice.

While the behavior theory has both positives and negatives, so too do other forms of therapy. In essence, it is the clinician's job to take a theoretical stance, and work through ways to help their clients. Some forms of therapy work better than others for certain problems, and clinicians can often easily recognize this and give credit through a recommendation. However, there is also more than one way to solve a problem. Educated clients will generally choose a therapist based on aligning viewpoints on psychology and psychotherapy. Other client's no so well versed in mental health practices can also gain information on the psychologists theoretical stance through both the psychologist, and personal research. If one puts stock into the theory it is more likely to work for them as the psychologist will have more to work with. Like any treatment, if a patient is resistant there is little that medical help can do. Thus, while the behavioral therapy method does have problems, these problems can be worked through, especially by an experienced clinician who can not only take advantage of all of behavior therapy's upsides, but also correct some of its shortcomings.

Trull, T. (2005). Clinical Psychology, 7^th Edition. Belmont, CA. Thomson Wadsworth.