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Opinion & Essays -
August, 2001 Issue #84
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Behavior Modification and
Psychoanalytic Theory
In Emotional Growth Schools and Programs
By Kristie Vollar
Woodbury Reports, Inc. - Referral Assistant
208-267-5550
kristie@woodbury.com
[I wrote this essay for my Psychology Class and thought it might be interesting to the parents/professionals who
are involved in the network. I want to clarify, however, that I am only describing two therapeutic approaches that are components
of more comprehensive therapeutic and/or emotional growth programs, which are not explained in their entirety in this discussion.]
At the beginning of this class, I completed a personal information
sheet in which I mentioned I had gone to a wilderness program and then to Mission Mountain School. Mission Mountain School is a therapeutic
boarding school for girls who are struggling with dependencies, have poor decision-making skills, struggle with healthy relationships,
and in general, display addictive behaviors. The school uses various therapeutic approaches, including behavior modification and psychoanalytic
therapy. My discussion will focus on my experiences with these two therapies while I was enrolled at Mission Mountain School, with
additional examples drawn from other schools/programs with which I work. Most of these programs use behavior modification and psychoanalytic
therapy as part of a more comprehensive program.
Behavior modification is a therapeutic technique that generally uses rewards and consequences in the form of a level system to reinforce
desired behaviors. Many of the wilderness programs use a level system where kids start out in one group and work their way to the
highest-level group, at which point they are ready to either move on to another facility, or go home. An example is the Aspen Achievement
Academy program, described in Lon Woodbury’s visit report that appears in the directory, Places for Struggling Teens™ 2000/01 [published
by Woodbury Reports, Inc]. This program is “specifically structured to bring the adolescent through a modern ‘rite of passage’ to
responsible young adulthood. Each child goes through four phases of the program, each with increasing responsibilities and privileges,
as they complete 27 assignments. The first phase is called Mouse, and is basically an orientation lasting a couple of days. Next is
the Coyote phase, which deals with personal issues along with learning the skills needed for survival and comfort in the wilderness.
In the Buffalo phase, the student moves on into community and family issues, and works on teamwork, which is often a very difficult
concept for children with low self-esteem to grasp. The highest level is called Eagle, where the student learns responsibility by
taking on leadership roles in the group. Each phase builds on the previous one, with the goal of each child learning self-control
and the ability to establish and work toward accomplishing goals.”
In addition to the level system, many programs also utilize licensed therapists to help the child understand how their emotions interfere
with their ability to change their behaviors. Sometimes the child will tap into repressed memories and need a counselor to help them
understand and cope with the feelings that arise. This form of therapy is based on psychoanalytic theory. For example, I was acting
out sexually when I was 17 as a result of repressed memories of being sexually molested when I was less than three years old. Repressing
my memories of molestation was how I had been coping with the scariness and pain of the situation. But at 17, I had been sexually
acting out to attract more attention in a misguided effort to improve my sense of self-worth. I felt ashamed, and didn’t even know
why. After I had been in a therapeutic setting for awhile, where I felt safe and had been learning about myself and some of the reasons
why I behaved the way I did, I started to remember being molested. The counselors were then able to help me understand that “it wasn’t
my fault” and helped me learn to cope with the new feelings and memories that surrounded being molested. I verified with my mom that
I had in fact talked to her about being molested when I was two and was able to “process” a lot of feelings that came up by physically
hitting a sponge block with a large bat because I felt angry. I wrote letters to the molesters telling them how their actions had
been wrong. I was both angry and hurt that they could take advantage of a 2 1/2 year old child. I worked on art projects and things
that interested me to remind myself that I was “worth it” and there was no reason for me to feel ashamed.
Other programs we work with also use behavior modification with a reward system to reinforce positive behaviors and natural consequences
to extinguish unwanted behaviors. A child will learn through experience that if he is resistant and doesn’t pitch his tent, and it
rains, he will get wet. So he learns to pitch his tent, at the same time learning that what he does directly affects the type of experience
he is going to have. Resistance is common in the beginning of a Therapeutic Wilderness Expedition, but as the child learns what behaviors
will bring negative consequences, he also learns what behaviors will bring positive rewards, and therefore, will become less resistant
and more cooperative. Naturally, as he begins to cooperate and learns appropriate behavior, he moves up through the levels. Another
example, also from the Places for Struggling Teens 2000/01 directory, describes Lon Woodbury’s visit to the Ascent program: “The structure
is very tight… the student’s choices at any one time are few and clear…wake up is at 7:00 am…students are given five minutes to get
dressed, make their beds, and gather outside. If anyone takes longer, then they all go back to bed to do it over again until they
do it right. Also, when the students go any place at Base Camp, they do it single file and on the run. The only time I saw the students
walking was to a graduation for one of the students. Even then, they go single file, with no talking. When a student falls into his/her
negative feelings or becomes resistant, the student is placed on a stump in the large circular center, roughly equivalent to a “time-out
room”. The student is physically in the middle of all the activities, but obviously isolated from everyone. This is physically symbolizing
the emotional isolation the student has created, and it becomes his/her sole job at that time to process the negative feelings that
are going on and to work on resolving those feelings so he/she can rejoin the group.”
The therapist or psychologist who uses behavior modification, looks at a person’s behaviors rather than their brains and nervous systems.
The kids we work with are generally placed in a program due to the behaviors they are displaying, for example, their grades are slipping,
they are running away, hanging out with “negative peers”, are into drugs or alcohol, have a low self-confidence, or poor leadership
skills. They might be really angry and/or aggressive and perhaps are depressed. The first thing they need is an intervention that
will get their attention and help them realize that their behavior, for whatever reason, is not appropriate. In the wilderness, they
are able to work on their self-confidence and leadership skills. They also can begin to tap into some of their “real” issues, the
reasons why they are “acting out”, instead of focusing only on the “symptoms” of the problem, their acting out behaviors.
The psychoanalytic perspective can shed light on some of the causes of certain behaviors. The psychoanalytic theory, as developed
by Sigmund Freud, was based on the assumption that much of our behavior stems from unconscious processes.
Mission Mountain School used behavior modification to provide us with structure so that we were able to learn what behaviors and actions
create a safe environment. As we began to feel safe, we could eventually tap into some of the deeper issues. Since some of us didn’t
know why we were angry, weren’t sure why we felt ashamed, or why we couldn’t make good eye contact. First we had to modify our lifestyles,
and learn how to “process”, that is, understand and cope with the emotions and events that were constantly ocurring. We learned to
adhere to our structured schedules and work with the program to avoid negative consequences for the entire group by modifying our
behaviors. Then the therapists, using psychoanalysis, counseled us to help us look deeper into our behaviors and learn how to process
the information that began to surface in our conscious memory. Many of the girls had been molested during the first 3 years of their
lives; many had other types of abuse at a young age, many felt they didn’t “belong”, doing “what ever it took” to fit in. Tapping
into repressed memories helped us work through some of our feelings, helping us to alter our behaviors as we learned how to manage
the new feelings that accompanied the new memories. Each girl’s history was evaluated in order for the school’s professional staff
to implement the appropriate therapies needed to recover from past pain and regroup towards a healthy, positive future.
Another aspect of behavior modification used by Mission Mountain School, called an “intervention”, is a period of intense physical
work, reduced sleep, stricter rules and more intense group therapy. It is used for breaking into an “underground”, the secrets the
girls would keep from the group in order to be sneaky or plan a run. During an intervention we would have very strict inspections
of our work, work all day in the hot sun, and if someone was resistant, or we didn’t pass inspection, we would start the day over
again. This was used to “break” down our defenses so that we would share what was going on with us. When an intervention lasts long
enough, one gets physically, mentally and emotionally worn out until there isn’t enough energy left to hide “what’s really going on”.
The longest intervention I was on at the school was 22 days.
The main difference between these two approaches is that behavior modification focuses on changing behaviors, using techniques such
as a level system that incorporates rewards and consequences, while the psychoanalytic approach seeks to uncover the underlying causes,
such as repressed memories, that are causing the unwanted behaviors, to help the person better understand their motivations and find
more effective ways to deal with their emotions. Many programs effectively integrate these two approaches, along with others, to help
students modify difficult behaviors and emotions.
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