Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
WIth the ongoing pressures for psychologists to practice evidence-based care, and the requirement insurance carriers have both for treatment goals, measurement of outcomes, and a focus on brief therapy, functional analysis provides a framework for achieving all of the above. Having proven itself in treating behavioral problems in education, functional analysis is now being applied more broadly to behavioral and psychologial disorders.
In his 1996 book (Functional Analysis in Clinical Psychology, Wiley UK), Sturmey applied the functional behavioral approach to case formulation across a wide range of psychological disorders and behaviors. Since the publication of his book, no other volume has taken an explicit behavioral approach to case formulation. The changes that have occurred over the last 10 years in behavioral case formulation have been significant and substantial. They include (a) a large expansion of the range of problems addressed, such as ADHD, (b) a range of new verbal behavior therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapies, (c) increased area of activity in the area of autism spectrum disorders; (d) many publications in how to train professionals, staff and parents in behavioral technology, and (e) new assessment instruments and procedures.
• Makes theories of functional analysis accessible to a wide range of mental health professionals
• Reviews behavioral assessment methods and strategies for case formulation
• Offers readers a practical, organized, data-based means of understanding psychiatric conditions for intervening effectively and measuring positive change
Synopsis
Functional Analysis in Clinical Treatment summarizes the use and success of functional analytic approaches in the treatment of psychopathology. Functional analytic approaches focus on moderating the environmental variables that can have a large impact on the clinical problem. Behavior analytic concepts have been popular since the 1950s and now are regularly integrated into behavior therapy both for case formulation and treatment of a wide range of clinical problems.
Functional Analysis in Clinical Treatment begins with a review of the common learning processes involved in behavior change, and its relevance to case formulation and intervention with a wide range of populations. Subsequent chapters review use of functional analysis for treatment of the major DSM-IV categories. Each chapter reviews current diagnostic criteria, describes a functional analytic model of that disorder, and functional analytic assessment and intervention. Each chapter additionally includes a case study to help illustrate functional assessment, development of a treatment plan, and evaluation of outcome.
Written by practitioners with extensive clinical experience and established track records of empirical research, this book will be useful to clinicians treating a wide variety of disorders. Chapters discuss use of functional analysis in treating developmental disabilities and pediatric disorders, ADHD, substance abuse, schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety, sexual disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, and impulse control disorders.
Doody Review Services
Reviewer:Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)
Description:This book discusses the use of functional analytic approaches to various DSM-IV categories. It differentiates structural from functional theoretical assumptions, stating the central thesis in the first chapter: "Psychopathology, like other behavior, is to be operationalized, its sources of variation are to be tracked down, and its functional relationships must be discovered.
Purpose:The purpose is to review "functional analytic approaches to case formulation and treatment for all the major categories of psychopathology." According to the preface, "functional approaches to this psychopathology are characterized by focusing on current context; environmental variables that have a large impact on the presenting problem and that can be readily manipulated; operationalization of behavior and reliable measurement of its relationship to the environment; and case formulation and idiographic treatment that are grounded in behavioral concepts and aim to produce large, socially, and personally meaningful changes (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968) that address goals that society recognizes as important, that use methods and achieve outcomes that are valued (Wolf, 1978).
Audience:The book is intended for clinicians treating a wide variety of disorders, but graduate students studying behavioral analysis in clinical and/or counseling psychology programs also would benefit greatly from this material.
Features:The first three chapters address theoretical issues (concepts and methods). The next 17 discuss specific disabilities/disorders such as ADHD, dementia, brain injury, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and eating disorders, to name a few. The authors cover diagnostic criteria, functional analytic approach to assessment, and functional analytic-based interventions. Each chapter includes a case study and the final chapter provides direction for future research. The book is easy to read and includes instructional tables and figures. The case studies are invaluable, showing how the author conceptualizes the problem and how behavioral methods are applied. In the final chapter, the passion behind a functional approach is brought to hopeful conclusion when Cynthia Anderson states: "a functional approach to human problems has many advantages relative to the more prevalent approach -- classification based on topography of responses. A functional approach provides a parsimonious framework for conceptualizing human behavior -- one that is applicable to all behavior exhibited by humans and nonhumans. As importantly, a functional approach is linked directly to development of interventions, as a functional assessment identifies environmental variables that might be manipulated to effect a change in behavior."
Assessment:This book would be a wonderful acquisition for the individual who wants to know more about how behavioral interventions are applied to various psychological disorders. It is well written and covers a wide range of DSM-IV disorders. Graduate students would benefit from seeing how strategies are formulated and behavioral techniques applied.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)Description: This book discusses the use of functional analytic approaches to various DSM-IV categories. It differentiates structural from functional theoretical assumptions, stating the central thesis in the first chapter: "Psychopathology, like other behavior, is to be operationalized, its sources of variation are to be tracked down, and its functional relationships must be discovered."
Purpose: The purpose is to review "functional analytic approaches to case formulation and treatment for all the major categories of psychopathology." According to the preface, "functional approaches to this psychopathology are characterized by focusing on current context; environmental variables that have a large impact on the presenting problem and that can be readily manipulated; operationalization of behavior and reliable measurement of its relationship to the environment; and case formulation and idiographic treatment that are grounded in behavioral concepts and aim to produce large, socially, and personally meaningful changes (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968) that address goals that society recognizes as important, that use methods and achieve outcomes that are valued (Wolf, 1978)."
Audience: The book is intended for clinicians treating a wide variety of disorders, but graduate students studying behavioral analysis in clinical and/or counseling psychology programs also would benefit greatly from this material.
Features: The first three chapters address theoretical issues (concepts and methods). The next 17 discuss specific disabilities/disorders such as ADHD, dementia, brain injury, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and eating disorders, to name a few. The authors cover diagnostic criteria, functional analytic approach to assessment, and functional analytic-based interventions. Each chapter includes a case study and the final chapter provides direction for future research. The book is easy to read and includes instructional tables and figures. The case studies are invaluable, showing how the author conceptualizes the problem and how behavioral methods are applied. In the final chapter, the passion behind a functional approach is brought to hopeful conclusion when Cynthia Anderson states: "a functional approach to human problems has many advantages relative to the more prevalent approach — classification based on topography of responses. A functional approach provides a parsimonious framework for conceptualizing human behavior — one that is applicable to all behavior exhibited by humans and nonhumans. As importantly, a functional approach is linked directly to development of interventions, as a functional assessment identifies environmental variables that might be manipulated to effect a change in behavior."
Assessment: This book would be a wonderful acquisition for the individual who wants to know more about how behavioral interventions are applied to various psychological disorders. It is well written and covers a wide range of DSM-IV disorders. Graduate students would benefit from seeing how strategies are formulated and behavioral techniques applied.