Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
Behavior therapy empowers persons with severe mental illness
1University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Tinley Park, IL 60477, USA. pcorriga@mcis.bsd.uchicago.edu
Abstract:
Behavior therapy has been viewed by some as disempowering persons with severe mental illness (i.e., undermining their ability to make independent decisions). This is ironic because various behavioral strategies actually promote independent decision making. Behavioral interventions (a) provide a safe place for persons to consider their life decisions; (b) simplify the range of choices that comprise many of these decisions; (c) help persons with severe mental illness learn behaviors so that they can better meet the demands of independent decision making: (d) teach family members skills so that they can provide more resources to support independent decision making; and (e) facilitate self-control over behaviors and the settings in which they occur. Behavior therapists need to assert the important role that behavioral principles assume in empowering persons with mental illness so that these principles are not discarded by professionals who misunderstand, or otherwise stereotype, behavioral interventions.
More Related Videos
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
07:21Electroencephalographic Signal Acquisition Framework for Neurodiverse: A Case Study of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy
Published on: June 27, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Behavior Modification
A real-world application of operant conditioning principles is applied...
Psychotherapy
Behavior Therapy
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
Operant Conditioning Intervention
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
Modeling in Therapy
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in situations...
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy