Counseling Behavior Management Techniques

When a client's behaviors stand in the way of his success, counselors often offer behavior management assistance. Through the process of behavior management, struggling individuals can learn to properly respond to instances of stress and control potentially disruptive or inappropriate behaviors, allowing them to more effectively function as productive members within a school or workplace environment.

Collaborative Goal Setting

• Behavior modification attempts, however well intentioned, will likely not be successful if the individual in need of making the behavioral change does not buy into the plan. To increase the likelihood that the patient commits to the behavioral change, counselors can work with these individuals to set goals. By tying these goals to the individual's behavior, counselors can make it more clear to the individual that his behavior does impact his social and workplace success and give him something to aspire to. Through collaborative goal setting, the counselor can work with the individual to identify and record goals and discuss the ways in which behavior modification could make the achievement of these goals possible.

Antecedent Identification

• Many individuals who struggle to control their behavior do so because they are unable to identify the events that trigger their outbursts. Counselors can work with their patients to identify these antecedents, or trigger events. By doing so, the counselor can enable her patient to better understand his own behavior and arm him with the knowledge necessary to recognize the onset of a behavioral outburst and respond before the outburst comes to fruition.

"Why" Behavior Exploration

• Many individuals who struggle to manage their behavior act out of impulse or emotion instead of thinking through their actions. To assist these individuals in controlling their impulsitivity and getting a better handle on their behavior, counselors can work with their patients to uncover the reasons why they act in certain fashions. To do this, a counselor may ask the patient to write down a behavior that he wants to change, such as using profanity when responding to an individual. The counselor may then ask the individual to list reasons why he feels that he responds in this undesirable fashion, perhaps that he is seeking attention or he is unable to control his anger. Once they have identified the reasons for the individual's behavior, the counselor and patient can work together to develop an alternative response system.