Behavioral therapy is an umbrella term for various therapeutic techniques often used with teens who need help identifying and changing maladaptive behaviors resulting from mental health and substance use disorders. Behavioral therapy techniques are based on the philosophy that all behaviors are learned and can be changed. For parents, learning to manage and modify a teen’s behavior can be challenging, especially when it is the symptom of an underlying mental health disorder or trauma. A dialectical behavior therapy program can be essential to comprehensive mental health treatment.
At Imagine Nampa, we offer a variety of evidence-based therapies and services to help teens ages 12-18 overcome their symptoms, heal, and grow. Our integrated approach addresses their behavioral symptoms and the root causes to ensure effective and lasting therapeutic results. Reach out to our team today to discover how behavioral therapy can help your teen and family. Use our online form or call 888.503.4604.
What Are the Benefits of Behavioral Therapy for Teens?
Behavioral therapy has been used to treat a wide range of conditions and is highly effective for people of all ages. A central component of behavioral therapy involves rewarding healthy behaviors that benefit a teen’s overall functioning and discouraging unhealthy behaviors that interfere with functioning.
Further, since thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors are interrelated, identifying and changing unhealthy thoughts and beliefs will ultimately change unhealthy feelings and behaviors. Because adolescence is such a formative time, the sooner these changes can occur, the better to avoid developing long-term maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving.
Among the many benefits of behavioral therapy for teens are the following:
- Improved academic performance
- Reduction of emotional outbursts and acting out
- Greater self-confidence and increased self-awareness
- Improved social skills and interpersonal relationships
- Reduction of risky behavior, including self-harm and substance abuse
Behavioral therapy is problem-focused and action-oriented, focusing on current issues rather than the past. Another significant benefit of behavioral therapy is that it can be adapted to meet each individual’s unique needs and challenges.
Is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Right for Your Teen?
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) initially developed to treat borderline personality disorder. DBT has since been adapted to help treat numerous mental health disorders and substance use disorders. DBT helps teens identify and build upon their strengths.
The main goals of DBT are to help teens learn to regulate their emotions, develop healthy ways to manage stress, and improve their interpersonal relationships. DBT is particularly effective in treating teens with harmful or self-destructive behaviors like eating disorders, self-harm, and substance use disorders, leading to a better quality of life.
While behavioral therapy techniques like DBT have numerous advantages and are proven effective, they are best used as one tool in a comprehensive, integrated approach to teen mental health treatment. Behavioral therapy techniques, including DBT, can be used to treat mental health disorders, including:
- ADHD
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Substance use disorders
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Developmental disorders
- Bipolar disorder
At Imagine Nampa, we know that managing your child’s problematic behaviors can feel impossible at times. The key to successful behavioral therapy is consistency. Therefore, family support, including therapy and education about mental health, are integral to Imagine Nampa’s teen mental health programs to provide families with the tools they need at home.
Learn More About the Benefits of Behavioral Therapy at Imagine Nampa
Imagine Nampa is dedicated to providing high-quality, comprehensive treatment to teens ages 12-17 and their families.
Our outpatient mental health treatment for teens includes:
- Crisis intervention
- Group therapy
- Individual therapy
- Family therapy
- Behavioral therapy
- Medication management
- Co-occurring disorders intervention
We offer various programs and services in a safe, structured, nurturing environment. When your teen is ready to step down from our partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs, we provide thorough discharge planning to help them transition back into school, the community, and ongoing care. Call 888.503.4604 to learn more about the benefits of behavioral therapy for teens at Imagine Nampa.