behavior therapy

American  

noun

Psychology.

1. a form of therapy emphasizing the correction of a person's undesirable behavior through Pavlovian conditioning, aversive therapy, or similar learning techniques.

---

Etymology

Origin of behavior therapy

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

behavior therapy

For two weeks, she participated in dialectical behavior therapy, a form of talk therapy in which patients learn and practice skills, such as mindfulness, to manage intense feelings.

From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2025

A signpost with six arrows on it sent users to different activities, each based on methods shown to improve mental health, such as dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2024

The program centers on dialectical behavior therapy, or D.B.T., which was developed over the past five decades by a psychologist named Marsha Linehan, who was suicidal herself.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2023

Dialectical behavior therapy group for difficulties with emotions or relationships, and cognitive behavioral therapy group for depression and anxiety.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2022

Beck’s work, along with that of Albert Ellis, a psychologist working independently, provided the architecture for what is known as cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2021