Behavioral Case Formulation

Description of the Strategy

The process of providing a clear theoretical explanation for what clients do and why they do it is termed case conceptualization. Case formulation, from a behavioral perspective, implies that the “what” will be observable behaviors and the “why” will be explained by learning principles. Within behavioral theory, both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors are acquired, maintained, and changed through the functional relationships with the events that precede and follow them. More specifically, behavior that is followed by a reinforcement is more likely to reoccur, whereas behavior that either fails to be reinforced or is followed by a punishment is less likely to reoccur. Furthermore, an individual learns that reinforcement is more likely to occur for certain behaviors in certain circumstances ...