Hydropsychotherapy: Water as a Punishing Stimulus in the Treatment of a Problem Parent-Child Relationship 1

Behaviorally oriented psychologists have relied primarily on two behavioral techniques to alter deviant parent-child relationships. One technique involves increasing social reinforcers and applying them in a contingent manner following the child’s appropriate behavior. However, this procedure is often insufficient to reduce deviant responses and is most often coupled with a second technique that involves some form of punishment.