Behavior Therapy Modification: Aims at modifying behavior by
reinforcing acceptable behavior and suppressing undesirable behavior. The
therapist employs any of various techniques of reward and punishment including
aversion therapy, desensitization, or guided imagery. The learning theory of the
psychologist B.F. Skinner and others is the basis for most behavior therapies.
In Skinner’s principle of extinction, a behavior pattern that is not
reinforced, or rewarded, will be extinguished or rendered inoperative. For
example, if smoking is made unpleasant for the smoker, then the smoking habit
may be curbed or given up. Behavior therapy is used in private and institutional
therapy, in group and individual settings, to treat such disorders as drug
addiction, alcoholism, and phobias.
Bioenergetics: Holds that repressed emotions and desires affect the
body and psyche by creating chronic muscular tension and diminished vitality and
energy. Through physical exercises, breathing techniques, verbal psychotherapy,
or other forms of emotional-release work, the therapist attempts to loosen this
character armor and restore natural well-being.
Biofeedback: Technique used especially for stress-related conditions
such as asthma, migraines, insomnia and high blood pressure. Biofeedback is a
way of monitoring minute metabolic changes in ones body with the aid of
sensitive machines.
Biofield: An energy field that suffuses living bodies and extends
several inches beyond the body. This concept is employed in therapies such as
healing touch, medical qigong, therapeutic touch, and reiki. In these therapies,
the biofield from a practitioners hands is joined to the recipients biofield in
order to treat an illness or to promote health. There is no consensus on what
biofield is; some say it is spiritual energy, others say it is an
electromagnetic field.
Body-Mind Centering: A movement-reeducation approach that explores how
the body’s systems contribute to movement and self-awareness. The approach
also emphasizes movement patterns that develop during infancy and childhood and
incorporates guided movement, exercise, imagery and hands-on work.
Body-Oriented Psychotherapy: Seeks to enhance the psychotherapeutic
process by incorporating a range of massage, bodywork and movement techniques.
Acknowledging the mind-body link, practitioners may use light touch, soft or
deep-tissue manipulation, breathing techniques, movement, exercise or body
awareness techniques that will help address emotional issues.
Breathwork: General term for a variety of techniques that use
patterned breathing to promote physical, mental and/or spiritual well-being.
Some techniques use the breath in a calm, peaceful way to induce relaxation or
manage pain, while others use stronger breathing to stimulate emotions and
emotional release.
