What is Behavioral Therapy?

As would be expected with any condition that affects the brain, bipolar disorder directly impacts emotional and cognitive functioning of those diagnosed with this disorder. Therefore, psychological therapy can be an important part of treatment. One type of therapy is Behavioral Therapy. Some goals for this treatment are to increase compliance with medications and to reduce negative behaviors.

What is Behavioral Therapy? Nancy Schimelpfening, the About.com Guide to Depression, discusses this type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing and gaining control over unwanted behaviors. It is based upon the principles of classical conditioning developed by Ivan Pavlov and operant conditioning developed by B. F. Skinner. It is effective for the treatment of health problems which require some sort of behavior change, such as quitting smoking or losing weight. It is also effective for anxiety disorders and phobias.