ABSTRACT
The behavior therapy model conceptualizes neurotic or maladaptive behavior as learned behavior, not as a manifestation of a mental illness. Treatment tends to focus on the "unlearning" or "relearning" of specific habit patterns. With behavior therapy, as with traditional therapy, the type of treatment approach should be dictated by the type of problem. In the case in this chapter, direct environmental manipulation of major social contingencies within the family was the treatment selected for a child manifesting seizure behavior of nonorganic origin. The demonstration of the functional relationship between parental attention and S's seizure behavior was made possible by using S as her own control. For ethical and/or practical reasons, this is not always feasible in a clinical setting. However, the baseline regarding the frequency of somatic complaints, tantrums, and seizures in this case seemed to reflect the effect of the treatment program. Because of this, a specific hypothesis relating the effect of parental attention on S's seizure behavior could be assessed.
