In this article we are going to talk about one of the fundamental components of the well-known Cognitive Restructuring technique: behavioral experiments.
Why do we say that these experiments are fundamental? Very simple: in the context of therapy it is relatively “easy” for the patient to test some beliefs at a verbal level, but the definitive challenge comes when the therapist proposes to carry out an activity outside, on their own, to test behaviorally those distorted or dysfunctional beliefs or thoughts.
Usually, it is at that moment when reluctance appears that had not arisen until now in therapy. And going from the abstract to action (from the verbal to the behavioral) is a challenge for anyone.
Don’t worry, it is not about doing experiments for unethical purposes with patients, but rather they are “exercises” or activities that the patient carries out, voluntarily and consciously, in their daily lives to overcome a problem or situation. difficult.
A behavioral experiment can consist of doing (in cases of social phobia, for example) or not doing something (especially in cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder), observing the behavior of others, daring to ask other people about what they think, feel or do (especially interesting in cases of social phobia), obtaining information from other sources such as books…
The objective of these experiments is to test patients’ distorted beliefs/cognitions which have to be specific (e.g., “they’re going to criticize me,” “I’ll go blank and won’t know what to say”) rather than too general (“I’m not worth it,” “I’m no good”).
To ensure the usefulness of behavioral experiments, it is very important that the patient does not focus his attention on himself when carrying them out, but on the task. Furthermore, it is essential that you stop using his defensive behaviors, as they contribute to the maintenance of the dysfunctional beliefs and thoughts that we want to modify.
Types and examples
There are 2 basic types of experiments:
Active experiments
They are the most frequent and the ones we have explained. They consist of the patient doing or not doing something.
Observation experiments
In these cases the patient is only an observer who is dedicated to collecting data, he does not have an active role as in the previous type. They will be useful in cases where the patient is too afraid to carry out an active experiment, or when more information is needed to do an active one. Examples: direct observation (modeling), conducting surveys or information from other sources.
When to use them?
We will prepare together with the patient and use behavioral experiments when we are applying the cognitive restructuring technique, in parallel. That is, when you want to make the person’s beliefs more flexible and modify them, behavioral experiments are a good ally.
Some authors recommend introducing behavioral experiments as soon as possible, since it is understood that therapeutic advances go hand in hand with behavioral changes. Psychologists are interested in the patient’s achievement of broad and prolonged changes over time (affective, cognitive and behavioral changes), which almost always require behavioral questioning.
In this sense, The verbal questioning that we carry out in the Cognitive Restructuring technique when looking for evidence for and against certain thoughts is very useful to “level” the ground and make it easier for the patient, but if small “nudges” are not introduced for the person to do or stop doing things, the therapy can be prolonged indefinitely (e.g., always moving in the abstract and in the verbal, in our “comfort zone”). This represents a high economic cost for the patient, non-achievement of therapeutic objectives and possible professional frustration for the psychotherapist.
How to prepare them?
Behavioral experiments are prepared in therapy together with the psychotherapist, who will be an important guide to achieve the expected changes They will never be predetermined experiments, but will vary greatly depending on the patient and the problem.
It is advisable that a self-registration of the experiment be prepared in the session, which should include:
