ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the descriptions of assessment and treatment procedures for several medical disorders. There are three steps in the intervention process: behavioral analysis, treatment, and follow-up. Behavioral analysis, or assessment, consists of the identification of carefully defined target behaviors. The interview is the most common method of behavioral assessment. The chapter discusses the process of behavioral change for specific disorders-insomnia, hypertension, alcoholism, obesity, headache, and pain. The term "insomnia" applies collectively to a variety of disturbances resulting in the inability to get adequate sleep. They include difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep and early morning waking. Many studies attest to the utility of biofeedback in treating hypertension. After reviewing the literature, ?. ?. Blanchard and L. D. Young asserted that biofeedback can significantly lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressures of patients with hypertension. The behavioral approach to alcoholism involves a multidimensional treatment package and alternative treatment goals.
