A commonly associated side effect of extinction as a treatment for behavior disorders is an initial increased frequency of the target response, called an "extinction burst." This study analyzed 113 sets of extinction data and found that extinction bursting occurred in only 24% of cases and was less common when extinction was combined…

Assesses overall effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments, relative effectiveness of specific treatments, and moderators of treatment effectiveness for nocturnal enuretic children via quantitative integration of research. Findings confirm that more children benefit from psychological than from pharmacological interventions and…

Demonstrated that therapeutic empathy had moderate-to-large causal effect on recovery from depression among 185 patients treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Homework compliance had separate effect on clinical recovery, over and above effect of therapeutic empathy. Patients of novice therapists improved significantly less than did patients…

Reviews common problems experienced by clients during progressive muscle relaxation training (PMRT) and summarizes pertinent solutions to those problems. Discusses difficulties and solutions related to cognitive restructuring training. Notes that cognitive restructuring is often used to enhance effectiveness of PMRT. Concludes with suggestions for…

Studied adherence of therapists to behaviors specified in cognitive-behavior therapy, interpersonal therapy, and clinical management manuals. Rated therapist adherence in each of 4 sessions from 180 patients in treatment phase of National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. Therapists exhibited more…

Scrutinizes rational-emotive therapy (RET) on conceptual and empirical grounds, including its reliance on constructive assessment and ethical stance. Notes that, although metanalytic reviews provide support for general utility of RET, more qualitative reviews question internal and external validity of much of published research. Notes that process…

Describes ways of operationalizing clinically significant change, defined as extent to which therapy moves someone outside range of dysfunctional population or within range of functional population. Uses examples to show how clients can be categorized on basis of this definition. Proposes reliable change index (RC) to determine whether magnitude…

The hypothesis that children with ADHD learn poorly under conditions of inconsistent reinforcement because they are easily frustrated and fail to develop persistence was investigated (N=22). Effects of partial and continuous reinforcement on measures of frustration, learning performance, and persistence were studied. Findings suggest that partial…

Discipline strategies must incorporate the learning and behavior of each child with the desired outcomes if they are to correct maladaptive behaviors. Suspension should be based on the student's best educational interests; conducted in a manner that teaches the student more appropriate behaviors; supported by empirical research; and used as a last…

Internet Behavior Dependence (IBD), a form of Internet addiction, is a new disorder requiring informed response from addictions clinicians such as mental health counselors. Presents a working definition for IBD, overviews the prevalence rates and demographic profiles of dependent users, and reviews assessment criteria and treatment for IBD.…

The purpose of the current experiment was to investigate the role of private verbal behavior on the operant performances of human adults, using a protocol analysis procedure with additional methodological controls (the "silent dog" method). Twelve subjects were exposed to fixed ratio 8 and differential reinforcement of low rate 3-s schedules. For…

Despite the popularity of Social Stories[TM] as an intervention for disruptive behavior in children with autism, there have been few investigations on the effectiveness of Social Stories. Scattone, Wilczynski, Edwards, and Rabian (2002) found that Social Stories decreased challenging behaviors in children with autism, but they identified verbal…

The purpose of this article was for selected Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) cognoscenti to examine the impact of the events of September 11th, 2001, on their beliefs about religion, spirituality and their personal philosophy--including the role of evil in the universe and the implications of these issues on their use of REBT. The degree…

This paper traces the developmental history of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) from its beginning as comprehensive distancing to its current form and status. It is maintained that technical differences between the two approaches are overshadowed by ones of conceptualization. Comprehensive distancing emerged from efforts to extend Skinner's…

Escape extinction has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for children exhibiting food refusal. To date, most studies have been conducted in inpatient treatment settings by trained clinicians. Few studies have evaluated the extent to which caregivers are able to implement efficacious interventions in their home for their food-selective…