Behaviour therapy is a method of teaching skills that help individuals in everyday life. Behaviour therapy is not a medical intervention and is not a cure for any medical condition. Applied Behaviour Analysis is the application of learning theory to assess potential behaviour change procedures. In simpler terms, there are a variety of teaching techniques that can be applied and the behaviour therapist will go through the process of determining the best technique to teach the desired skill or to eliminate/decrease unwanted behaviour. Functional Behaviour Assessments are used to determine the function of the behaviour (why certain behaviours are occurring or not occurring), these may be conducted directly or indirectly.
Consistent with Paradigm’s philosophy of real life therapy, behaviour therapy is often conducted within other activities.
How long does it take? The time it takes to learn new skills varies greatly and is very individual, but behaviour therapy is typically a short-term intervention. The length of involvement will be determined by the individual goals, progress made towards those goals and the nature of the skills being taught. For example is the individual: learning new skills; re-learning old skills; or, attempting to change techniques of responding to different situations.