Behavior Rehearsal (Behavior Therapy)
1. Overview:
-Similar to the role-playing in a psycho-dramatic school of group therapy.
-The behavior rehearsal is different from psychodrama.
-It is not about (a) uncovering the patient’s blocked affect/unresolved conflicts and tracing current problems back to their historical origins, (b) providing the patient with insight into the developmental origin of his problems, and (c) achieving catharsis, but (a) enactment of real-life situations in sessions and in vivo, (b) helping the patient learn new ways of responding to specific life situations and (c) teaching new behavior response patterns (i.e., interpersonal skills, assertive behavior) through giving reinforcements (i.e., praise), punishment (i.e., critics), suggestions, and feedback.
2. Implementation of Behavior Rehearsal
(1) Preparation of the patient
-Help the client recognize the need for learning a new behavior pattern (i.e., behavior interpretations of the client’s difficulties/problems).
-Convince the client that behavior rehearsal proper would be effective and help overcome difficulties/problems (i.e., social skills).
-Convince your client that it is O.K. to feel shy, artificiality, or uneasiness while learning new behavior through role-playing.
(Ex) Problems (i.e., “I let people step all over me”) Behavior interpretation (i.e., “a gap between the way you react and the way you want to react?”) How? (i.e., “Before you try to carry out more assertive behavior in real situations, you may want to review some of these situations and your reactions to them here.” “It is safe to practice here.”)
-Explain behavior rehearsal proper.
(2) Selection of target behavior
-Similar to the hierarchical list of anxiety-provoking situations created during the systematic desensitization technique, the therapist asks, explores, and discusses with the client and mutually construct a good, specific, concrete, and representative sample of situations where the client is likely to manifest behavioral deficits (i.e., can’t speack up for my opinion).
-Rank order the items in terms of complexity of the behavioral skills required.
(Ex) interpersonal skills for a socially deficient male client (i.e., “taking to a man standing by a phone booth” vs. “talking to a woman standing alone at a party”).
(3) Behavior rehearsal proper
-It is a gradual shaping process. That is, learning a number of component skills of a complex social interactions. Not all of them at once, but step by step and sequentially.
-The therapist is responsible for setting the stage for realism (i.e., vivid description of such situations).
-Start the bottom of the hierarchy constructed in advance, each situation is role-played.
-Therapist gives feedback or comments on the client’s role-playing. Self-monitoring is more therapeutic.
-If inadequate or ineffective, the therapist provides “modeling” (i.e., reverse roles or getting assistant/aide), “coaching” (i.e., tech the client what and how to say when and where), or letting the client “listen” to one’s own role-playing that was tape-recorded.
-And then discuss what/how the client role-played in terms of (a) how others did or would differently act and (b) how you would differently role-play (i.e., alternative ways of acting).
(4) Carrying out the newly learned role behaviors in real-life situations.
-When the client mastered a given pattern of social behavior, the client will practice that pattern in the real life situation (i.e., give homework).
-The client will write journal on what he did in which situations (i.e., progress).
-Will discuss the consequences of his newly behaviors.
3. Other procedures
(1). Fixed role therapy (Kelly, 1955): Simply “trying out” certain behavior patterns/scenarios (i.e., behavioral sketches) that are predetermined by both therapist and clientThe client will be asked to assume the role for several weeks.
(2). Exaggerated role-taking (Lazarus, 1977): Ask the client to think of an individual who has characteristics the client lacks and then practice the behavior in sessions and in vivo.
4. Applications.
(1). Assertion training:
-Identify problems (i.e., not standing up for their rights and subsequent regrets about not having done so) and practice them.
-Make clear the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness.
(2). Social skill training:
-Discuss what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in given social situations, and then practice them in sessions and in vivo.
-Appropriate for group therapy sessions (i.e., group members’ progress serves a modeling function, group pressure to try out new responses, and social interaction is realistically simulated).
(3) Other application: job interview, police training, pilot training, etc.