2021 Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 187-205
In its early days, applied behavior analysis (ABA) was extensively studied by researchers in the field of psychiatry. However, in the 1980s, the approach came to be regarded as a part of behavior therapy, and the principles of behavior analysis were absorbed into cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which is now regarded as a third generation in a broad sense. It continues to develop as clinical behavior analysis (CBA). However, evaluation of the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy and clinical behavior analysis is influenced by empirically supported treatments (EST), and is mainly limited to group designs such as randomized controlled trials (RCT). Little psychiatric research has been done based on behavior analysis methodologies. The present paper (a) reviews the history of applied behavior analysis in psychiatric clinical practice, (b) organizes the history of cognitive behavior therapy, which is a standard treatment in current psychiatric practice, and describes its relationship to behavior analysis, (c) points out characteristics of and problems with the evidence that has been presented in support of the methodology of cognitive behavior therapy, and (d) discusses the importance of aiming for well-established practices based on the methodology of applied behavior analysis by integrating research evidence from group comparison designs with verification of practice effectiveness through single-case design methodology. A mechanism should be created to increase the use of the methodology of behavior analysis in the field of psychiatry.
