Points To Note Mental Health Counseling And Applied Behavior Analysis

By Roger Martin


Mental disorders have become a leading source of stresses within families especially in cases whereby one of the family member is affected. In situations such as a family having an autistic child, finding corrective treatment can be daunting. However, the situation can be rectified by taking part in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Behavior Analysis for both the toddler and parents.

The two practices work towards helping the family as a whole to be aware of the situations at hand, learn how to endure them and teach corrective treatments that will help parents understand their children more. It is therefore advisable for individuals not to be skeptical about counseling but rather embrace it.

It is common for people to evade the topic of counseling due to the negative mentality and picture that people create about psychotherapy. Embracing this practice allows parents to get assistance on how to handle their autistic child and even give them platforms to get advice and get relief from the pressures they are having. The behavior analysis also boosts on encouragement of good traits and correction of bad traits displayed by the toddler.

When it comes to applied behavior analysis, the practitioner will use discrete trials which in the long run help to encourage good traits and correct the bad ones. For instance, the specialist may tell the toddler to display some character or carry out an activities, a quick and positive response gets the child an award while a lack of response denies him or her an award. Awards given is used as a motivation and is something that the child loves.

Being actively involved in these two practices, parents will be allowing their children to gain better social skills. It is often to find children with autism shying away from the public because they feel different and this is sometimes encouraged by the parents. Behavioral analysis gives the child ways to cope around their peers and improve their social relations as well. Parents also learn acceptance and to be proud of their children in public.

It allows them to have an improvement in independent living. It is common for people to assume that autistic kids will always be highly dependent on their guardians. The analysis does keep track of the traits and responses that the young one give allowing parents and guardians to teach them independent skills such as feeding themselves, toileting, self-care and being able to sleep through the night on their own.

Seeking these services from specialist requires a number of considerations to be made. It is important for parents to get a qualified practitioner so as to get the best treatment for their child. For an individual to be qualified in this field, the person should have a masters or PhD in psychology or behavioral analysis or both, have certification showing that he or she has been properly trained in this field and a state license to practice.

In most states, these practices are often covered by insurances hence the need for parent to check whether the particular insurance they are subscribed to can fully cover the expenses. Recommendations from reliable sources such as pediatricians or family friends is also important so as to narrow your search.




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