Beyond Autism Treatment: The Application of Applied Behavior Analysis in the Treatment of Emotional and Psychological Disorders

The field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) has increasingly come to be associated with the treatment of autism in young children. This phenomenon is largely the result of empirical research demonstrating effective treatment outcomes in this population. The same cannot be said with regard to the treatment of conditions often referred to as emotional or psychological problems. The current article describes the philosophical and descriptive differences that likely account for the lack of application of ABA in these areas and proposes potential solutions to help ABA practitioners more effectively address these issues. Specifically, the issue of how to objectively describe these “conditions” needs to be addressed so that careful study of treatment effects can occur in a manner similar to the way that brought ABA to prominence in autism treatment.