Outline and evaluate behavioural therapies to treat mental disorders Essay

Because of the nature of the behavioural model which measure specific behaviours in precise terms such as how many times a negative behaviour is performed, improvements can be accurately measured. Which in turn means therapies effectiveness can too be measured. The classical learn therapies have been prove to be effective by Wolpe who found an 80-90% success rate with these therapies. Barlow and Lehmen also found a success rate of 77% following treatment. However music can interfere with systematic desensitization because medication suppresses anxiety.Operant conditioning is also based on scientific principals proven to be effective by Azrin who examined female patients in a mental hospital who were incapable of doing everyday tasks. Using token economies, confirmative behaviour in these women increased. However studies looking at children and students by Lepper and Deci also found that rewarding inherent interests actually reduces behaviour. A strength of the classical cond itioning therapies is that the patients have a high level of control. In token economies however patients have very little control over their therapies.This raises ethical issues as advised consent is not achieved for token economies, instead they argon enforced with or without the patients consent. Token economies are also open to abuse and can be deemed as a form of social control. Classical conditioning therapies also raise ethical issues in terms of putting their patients at risk of emotional harm. separate problems with classical conditioning therapies include the fact that some patients may not have a vivid enough imagination for flooding, and social desensitization may be difficult to arrange and control, whereas token economies are practical as they can be done anywhere.A problem with token economies though, is that changes are out-of-pocket to external rewards and not an innate desire to change and so if the rewards are removed the positive behaviour may cease. Finally debate will also continue whether the treatments provided by the behavioural model precisely treat the symptoms and not the causes, and if only the symptoms are treated, does it matter?