Category Archives: Psychology NOW

The Principles of Behavior Modification #3 Punishment

By 양미린 Mirin Yang, MA

Punishment is one of the basic elements of ‘behavioral modification’.

 

 

Unlike reinforcement, ‘punishment’ is when an immediate consequence is given to decrease the frequency of certain behavior. The consequence refers to the application of aversive or unpleasant stimulus or removal of a reinforcer.

 

 

 

Punishment occurs in our daily lives. Not only disciplines from guardians or parents are regarded as punishment but experience of any aversive stimulus can also function as punishment. Examples of punishment include burning oneself from boiling kettle or pricking one’s finger on a sharp edge.

 

 

 

Punishment is a ‘very last measure’ that is applied when there is no progress in positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement to eliminate a target behavior. Adult clients can agree to the application of punishment in their treatment, while in the case of young children, parents’ or guardians’ agreement is required. After the client signs a psychological service agreement, clinicians gather data about a child’s behavioral issues and reinforcers one responds via functional assessment. Finally, a treatment method is chosen, considering the safety of the child and the severity of the child’s behavioral issues.

 

 

 

The Tree Group prepares a specific treatment plan for every individual client. All the clinicians of the Tree Group are thoroughly trained and supervised in advance of any clinical practice. Please refer to the following page for further details of the program: https://thetreeg.com/en/ips/

The Principles of Behavior Modification #2 Extinction

By 양미린 Mirin Yang, MA

Extinction is one of the basic elements in behavior modification.

 

 

In behavioral modification, ‘extinction’ systematically reduces previously reinforced behavior by taking away the reinforcers or stimuli for that behavior, ultimately aiming to eliminate the behavior. In the process of extinction, an ‘extinction burst’ may occur. It is a temporary increase in the frequency, duration, and magnitude of a targeted behavior and it usually happens during the initial phase of the extinction process.

 

 

 

 

An example of ‘extinction burst’ can be seen from a child who threw a tantrum to let one’s parents buy them a toy no longer receives the toy even when he tantrums. To get the toy from the parents, the child will throw tantrum for a longer period (increase in duration) or burst out crying (increase in magnitude). The parents may get an impression that the child’s undesirable behavior has worsened, however, it is a natural phenomenon that happens in the process of extinction as the reinforcers are eliminated. Meanwhile, the parents should be aware not to provide the reinforcers (e.g. buying a toy to stop the child’s intensified temper tantrum) because it may lead to an ‘intermittent reinforcement’ which may rather strengthen the targeted behavior in the extinction process.

 

 

 

 

The Tree Group uses various behavioral therapeutic techniques including extinction to effectively improve symptoms of ASD, ADHD, aggression, and emotional dysregulation in many psychiatric disorders. The Tree Group’s Behavior Modification Program is performed by behavior modification experts based on the latest academic literature in psychology. Please refer to the following page for further details of the program: https://thetreeg.com/en/ips/

The Principles of Behavior Modification #4 Shaping

By 양미린 Mirin Yang, MA

Shaping is a behavioral procedure in which successive approximations of a target behavior are differently reinforced until the person engages in the target behavior. Successive approximations, or shaping steps, are behaviors that are increasingly more like the target behavior. 

 

A successful shaping would include the following:

 

 

– Define the target behavior

– Determine whether shaping is the most appropriate procedure

– Identify the starting behavior

– Choose the shaping steps (successive approximations)

– Choose the reinforcer to use in the shaping procedure

– Reinforce each successive approximation in different ways

– Move at a proper pace through the shaping steps

 

 

For example, shaping is used to develop language, in which the successive approximations/shaping steps include: babbling, words sounds, pat words, whole words, strings of words, and sentences.

 

The Tree Group prepares a specific treatment plan for every individual client. All the clinicians of the Tree Group are thoroughly trained and supervised in advance of any clinical practice. Please refer to the following page for further details of the program: https://thetreeg.com/en/ips/

 

The Principles of Behavior Modification #1 Reinforcement

By 양미린 Mirin Yang, MA

Reinforcement is one of the basic elements in behavior modification.

 

 

In behavioral modification, ‘reinforcement’ is the process in which a behavior is strengthened by the immediate ‘consequence‘ that reliably follows its occurrence.  The consequence refers to any stimulant that can affect the occurrence of an operant behavior. The stimulant is called a ‘reinforcer’.

 

 

 

 

Positive and negative reinforcement are processes that strengthen a behavior; they both increase the probability that the behavior will occur in the future. As an example of ‘positive reinforcement’, a child who doesn’t complete his homework can be rewarded with an hour’s viewing of his favorite cartoon on weekends when he finishes his homework given that week. An example of ‘negative reinforcement’, can be an exclusion from doing chores. Unlike positive reinforcement it eliminates unwanted consequences to strengthen the operant behavior.

When using reinforcement techniques, it is very important to choose an appropriate reinforcer. For children who are not interested in cartoons, watching cartoons cannot be a reinforcer. As such, the child is likely to continue to incomplete homework. Therefore, it is very important to find and apply effective reinforcer in the therapy.

 

 

 

 


The Tree Group uses various behavioral therapeutic techniques to effectively improve symptoms of ASD, ADHD, aggression, and emotional dysregulation in many psychiatric disorders. The Tree Group’s Behavior Modification Program is performed by behavior modification experts based on the latest academic literature in psychology. Please refer to the following page for further details of the program: https://thetreeg.com/en/ips/

Comprehensive Psycho-educational Evaluation for Bilingual Children Between the Ages 3-7

By 이승하 Seungha Lee, MSc

After an initial intake interview with the parents, several intellectual and psychological assessments are provided to students who are referred to the Center for International Psychological Services due to learning difficulties. Through the intellectual assessment, the strengths and limitations of the students and where their academic struggles come from are recognized to establish a treatment plan unique for each individual.

 

 

 

 

Especially for children between the ages 3-7, several behavioral observations are conducted to observe how the student behaves in bilingual academic and play situations. The behavioral observations are conducted individually in English and Korean to figure out which language the child finds more convenient and how the child responses to each language. This provides us with a greater insight into understanding the learning difficulties of a bilingual child.

 

 

The learning difficulties of a child may be due to various (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) reasons and a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation helps to understand the difficulties of the child and to establish a treatment plan. Under the consent of the parents, communication is also made between the clinic and the school to implement the treatment plan in a school setting as well.

 

 

 

 

Since 2003, many parents with children between the ages 3-7 were able to specifically understand the learning difficulties of their children through the comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation. An individualized active learning program for these bilingual children has positively affected the child in regard to his/her emotional state and helped develop a keen interest in learning.

2018 “DBT Skills Training Manual, 2nd Edition” was published.

“By using DBT Manuals that has a scientific dedication of
Dr. Marsha Linehan’s dialectical minds and Buddhist fulfillment,
We wish to save many individuals who are suffering with emotion regulation in the world.”

In 2018, “DBT Skills Training Manual, 2nd Edition” was published, producing two of Dr. Marsha Linehan’s manuals. 

 

Dr. Marsha Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual 2nd Edition was planned to be published since 2000. After the first edition was published in 1993, having a 2nd edition was the outcome of dedicated clinical efforts. It is our honor to publish Dr. Marsha Linehan’s DBT manuals that contain her life work of clinical research and insights. 

 

Dr. Yong Cho knew Dr. Linehan and her team’s dedication and efforts to the manuals, which allowed him to translate each worksheet and clinical terminologies, to apply them to clients in clinical settings and to observe their therapeutic progress. We wish to save many individuals who are suffering with emotion regulation in the world.

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2017 “Today’s Mindfulness Cards” was created.

“50 Mindfulness skills to collect our minds
Today’s Mindfulness
Start our day with Mindfulness cards”

<Today’s Mindfulness> Anyone, anytime, anywhere

 

<Today’s Mindfulness> was created for anyone to enjoy mindfulness in daily life. It aims to free ourselves from worries and endless thoughts by focusing on the simple cards to be mindful with anyone, at anytime and anywhere, unlike difficult religious books or lectures. 

 

We often see that Western individuals who are more familiar with scientific approach to mindfulness get deeper enlightenment. Enlightenment comes from a moment, not always from a zen meditation.

 

Korean people who have experienced meditation or Buddhism or Christians who have unresolved difficulties in their minds will experience mindfulness and peacefulness with the use of “Today’s Mindfulness” cards.  

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2017 “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Workbook 2nd Edition” was published

“Since 2013, translators and the members of the Tree Group Press put in all their heart and soul
to translate the book and published it after five years of time.”

In 2017, “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Workbook 2nd Edition” was published. Since 2013, the translator and the members of the Tree Group Press worked their best to publish and to produce a successful outcome. 

 

The team could achieve the outcome with the hope that the book could provide a new hope to Koreans with emotional difficulties and suffering. We express our gratitude to the author, Dr. Marsha Linehan for giving us this opportunity. 

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2017 “DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents” was published

“A manual for emotional dysregulation and borderline personality disorder
“DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents” was published.”

In 2017, “DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents” was published. Dr. Jill Rathus is a renowned professional who published countless research papers regarding DBT, CBT, adolescents suicide, marriage difficulties, violence in couples, anxiety and psychological evaluations. Dr. Allec Miller is a DBT expert who trains thousands of trainee clinical psychologists and he researched DBT, adolescents, child abuse and borderline personality disorder. 

 

Although DBT was being applied to adolescents due to a growing interest in adolescents’ behavioral problems, Dr. Jill Rathus and Dr. Allec Miller were disheartened that the treatment did not consider the psychological factors specific to adolescents. This became their motivation to develop and to publish “DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents”, which recognizes adolescents’ emotional and cognitive development and its difference to adults.

 

DBT for adolescents has brought therapeutic effects to adolescents with emotional dysregulation, borderline personality disorder and behavioral problems, but also to typical adolescents. The effectiveness of the treatment was proved by various research papers and clinical institutions from all around the world, which suggests that the strategies and skills in this book would be a useful tool for DBT Skills Trainer who has adolescent clients. 

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2016 A Psychotherapy Novel “The Seven Room” was published

"A psychotherapy novel based on true stories, "the Seven Room" was published."

In 2016, the Tree Group Press published a psychotherapy novel called “the Seven room”. The U.S. licensed psychologist Dr. Cho, a psychotherapist Songhee Chae and an author Eunyoung Choi published it together. The novel adapted the true stories of clients who visited the Tree Group, and as you open the seven doors to the seven rooms of different stories, you will start to notice similarities between the characters and yourself. You follow the path to each room and empathize as if each story is related to you. 

 

Once the book was published, many adolescents, parents and adults gained a new understanding of psychotherapy, and readers realized that others have similar difficulties to themselves after reading the novel, which led them to gain more courage in taking steps forward.

 

“‘The Seven Room’ was nominated as “the Best Educative Book” by ‘Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea’.

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