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Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy in its broadest sense aims at changing behavior in the here and now. 

As we change our patterns of behavior, this can have a profound impact on on our mood, self-esteem, and relationships. 

Challenging behavior is often the first and easiest thing to recognize in ourselves. 

Like when we realize what we’ve been doing no longer works for us and causes more suffering than the actual problems it aims to solve. 

Can you relate?

Sometimes we just mature and evolve, and our old behaviors no longer “fit” us like they used to.

Changing your habitual behaviors is not an easy process, but the upside is it can open up a new perspective on life and allow you to see how your choices and decisions were sometimes based on good intentions but faulty premises.

Once this misunderstanding is rectified, a more healthy and empowering relationship with your past and present IS possible.

Woohoo!

At My LA Therapy, our philosophy is based on a parallel process —managing the chaos of your daily life first in order to dive deeper into emotional experiences and understand how they have shaped your choices. 

When you work with our therapists, you can expect to see a mirror held up to your personal narrative.

This mirror can take the form of questioning, caring, explaining, challenging, and helping. 

Each client requires individual care as each client’s history is as unique as their fingerprint.

Let’s be real, Behavioral Therapy is not a cure-all….

But, it can be the first step towards making long-lasting changes to your life and beginning a path of greater self-awareness, mastery, and empowered action.

And we definitely want more of that. 

It is, after all, very difficult to make big changes in our lives if we find it too difficult to modify our daily behavior. 

That’s why starting small is key.

If we can take incremental steps towards change, this will give us some flexibility in how we act and subsequently how we think.

It enables us to further question and examine our lives, and take the steps that are required for long-lasting change that will contribute to a happier and healthier future.

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Book a free call to get matched with one of our warm and experienced Behavioral therapists.

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What are the Types of Behavioral Therapy that can be Used?

There are many different types of behavioral therapy—some of which you might have heard of and others that you probably haven’t.

Behavioral therapy in general can be used to treat common mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, and even anger issues.

It can also be applied to eating disorders, bipolar disorder, ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), issues with self-harm and substance abuse, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

The various types of behavioral therapy include:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
    CBT is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy, and is one of the most commonly used forms of therapy. While utilizing this approach, we will work with you to figure out how your beliefs and thoughts might influence your behavior. The goal is to figure out how to solve any current problems you might have, and change how you think and act so that it does not negatively affect you.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy
    This type of therapy—usually used with young children—allows our therapists to figure out what children might not be able to verbally tell us by analyzing their play.
  • Systematic Desensitization
    This type of therapy is usually used in order to treat fears and phobias, or things that might cause anxiety. We will first teach you breathing and relaxation techniques so that you are able to relax when you are faced with a high-anxiety situation. Then we will gradually expose you to the object/event that you are afraid of for longer and longer periods of time to your tolerance level, until you are able to overcome your fear by using the relaxation techniques.
  • Aversion Therapy
    The focus of this type of therapy is to associate something that you might desire (but that is unhealthy or harmful to you) with a highly unpleasant stimulus. This technique is very effective when used to treat alcoholism, substance abuse, or drug problems. For example, you might be taught to associate alcohol with a highly uncomfortable memory you might have, and by doing so, the desire to consume the alcohol will diminish, helping you overcome your struggles with alcohol.

Research-based, personalized therapy.

At My LA Therapy, our warm and experienced therapists specialize in anxiety, depression, trauma, & relationships.

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How does Behavioral Therapy Work?

There are two main psychological theories that behavioral therapy is based off of: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. 

With the classical conditioning technique, neutral stimuli are paired with a stimuli that causes a natural response, eventually causing the neutral stimuli to elicit its own response. 

With the operant conditioning technique, reinforcement or punishment are used in order to increase or decrease how often a specific behavior occurs. 

These different techniques can be leveraged for powerful, long-term changes in our lives.

At My LA Therapy, our therapists will work with your individual needs and situation and create a customized approach to therapy tailor-made for your specific situation, needs, and values. 

Our Therapy Methods

Therapy can improve your life by minimizing the anxiety in your life, identifying and changing underlying thought and behavioral patterns that contribute to your struggles, and providing you with strategies to decrease discomfort while restoring an overall sense of peace.

See the About Therapy page for a deeper look into this process. 

Our evidence-based, scientifically proven interventions are demonstrated by research to be effective in addressing a wide range of psychological, mental health, and relational issues.

Learn more about our empirically based therapy modalities by visiting our Methods page. 

 

Resources

  1. Healthline
  2. Verywell Mind
 

What Our Clients Say

"With your help, I've finally started to understand that while my vivid imagination often wants to create terrifying monsters under the bed, in a lot of cases those monsters are nothing more than a heap of decidedly less-terrifying laundry I've avoided for too long that just needs to be aired out and put away. Which is definitely a lot easier than monster slaying. Thank you for shedding light in the dark places I was too afraid to face alone."
Anonymous Client
"After every session I come away feeling better prepared to start shining light into shadows I've hustled past for a long, long time... some rational ones, but a lot more aren't. Shame is such a stealthy master; He's been the monkey on my back for a long time. You totally called it. I'm so grateful for your guidance and skill and although sometimes I may shuffle and others I may leap, after our sessions I always feel like I'm moving forward."
Anonymous Client
"I want to thank you again for your continued help and expertise, and more specifically for yesterday's learning opportunity about how I can communicate more effectively. After your ultimately appreciated prodding you made me feel comfortable with the idea that expressing confusion or even doubt can serve as valuable conversation-assets, and I look forward to moving forward without those those self-inflicted parameters."
Anonymous Client
"Just wanted to share that yesterday's session with you, and a long, productive dinner table conversation with my wife last night, started to uncover a huge gap between perception and reality in my understanding of the status I held in our marriage. Our session opened my eyes to the fact that the inequity I've long felt comes from a place of assumed unworthiness. I'm so thankful for this journey we are taking together, with your help, towards deeper, more productive understanding."
Anonymous Client
"I have worked with many therapists in the past, but this is the first time I feel that I am making changes that are deep and lasting. Her counseling has truly helped me become free, even from things I wasn’t aware were affecting me. Brooke integrates many different approaches to provide balanced and effective therapy."
Anonymous Client
"You are truly an amazing person. I am so grateful for your sincerity and kindness– big-hearted and deep soulfulness. You are incredibly intuitive, insightful and wise. You are a gifted listener and a powerful speaker, passionate and genuine."
Anonymous Client
"Brooke is kind and warm, but not afraid to challenge you. She is caring, authentic and compassionate as well as intelligent and clinically skilled. Brooke possesses great wisdom and intuition, which she balances with knowledge and skill."
Anonymous Client
"Brooke has really helped me to overcome the problems in my life that I was starting to believe couldn’t change. I now understand where my depression and anxiety came from and they are no longer a part of my life. I now feel a sense of peace and purpose."
Anonymous Client
"I’ve recommended Brooke to so many of my friends and colleagues, I’m starting to feel like her personal cheerleader. But it can’t be helped. When I look back on the past year, without a doubt the most difficult year of my life, I can’t believe how far I’ve come."
Anonymous Client
"Brooke has been an incredibly positive influence in my life. I first came to Brooke in the midst of a divorce from my high school sweetheart and best friend. With Brooke’s gentle guidance and supervision, I began the most intense period of personal growth in my life."
Anonymous Client

Behavioral Therapists

Brittany Rudinica
LCSW

Therapist

Heather Totten
LMFT

Therapist
My LA Therapy - Lorie Nguyen (featured)

Lorie Nguyen
LCSW

Therapist
Sydney-Shaevel-Therapist (featured)

Sydney Shaevel
LMFT

Therapist
Tanya-Mailander-Therapist (featured)

Tanya Mailander
LMFT

Therapist

We find you the perfect therapist.

Guaranteed.

We find you the perfect therapist – or your money back. 

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Our warm and experienced therapists offer research-based, personalized therapy that addresses the root cause for your symptoms to create lasting change.
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