Behavior therapy. The words conjure up images of couches, perhaps. Soft-spoken, confused beings, whimpering as they word vomit about the childhood trauma they endured that made them fearful of snakes, and a bespectacled therapist holding up a lizard.
Perhaps not. Perhaps more people now understand that Behavior therapy, more formally known as Applied Behavior Analysis, is a much more scientific, evidence-based, legitimate form of therapy used in whatever context behavior needs to change. Period. This is what I do. I’m a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, a BCBA; however you slice it, I assess, analyze, and predict behavior, and that behavior includes any that a human being needs to better function in his or her life.
It’s absolutely the most fascinating career I could ever have thought to cultivate. I work with children and families with autism, changing their lives for the better. While my current company is not endorsing me in any way, I would refer people to them over and over again for their ability to create lasting change in the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their loved ones. Okay, and I have to add, that contrary to popular belief, we don’t ONLY work with autistic kids. Applied Behavior Analysis can be applied to the gerontological field with patients with dementia; it can be used in a treatment program for young adults suffering from eating disorders; sports medicine has made strides with increasing athletic performance in a natural, healthy way by creating behaviorally-based training programs. I’m training my cat through ABA! Okay, I suppose, trying to train him.
Behavior Analysis is here. We are creating change.
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Have more questions? Ask and you shall know.