Title: Applied Behavior Analysis in Mental Health | ABA Careers in Mental Health
Headings: Applied Behavior Analysis in the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders
Applied Behavior Analysis in the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders
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Mental Health Issues Emerge from the Shadows of Autism
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Combines ABA and Cognitive Treatment Techniques
Practicing Applied Behavior Analysis as a Mental Health Professional
Preparing for a Career in Mental Health as an Applied Behavior Analyst
Further Reading on Applied Behavior Analysis in Mental Health

Content: Behaviorists went directly from animal training to mental hospitals, implementing ABA techniques such as token economies, reinforcement procedures, and shaping. Experiments in the early 1960s revealed that an applied behavioral approach could work successfully with schizophrenics. But behavior analysis in mental health treatment went into decline in the 1970s and 1980s. The number of research papers in the domain dropped precipitously, and behavior-based approaches such as token economies in mental institutions were dropped in favor of psychotropic medicines. Applied behavior analysis is making a comeback in mental health treatment, however, thanks to new research and a link between mental issues and the overwhelming specter of the autism epidemic in the United States. Mental Health Issues Emerge from the Shadows of Autism
Since the early 1990s, treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has dominated both the practice of applied behavior analysis in mental health, and applied behavior analysis generally. According to a 2015 survey commissioned by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), more than half of all job postings for ABAs involved positions working with ASD patients. Although ASD itself is not considered a mental disorder, research has shown that individuals with ASD are also at higher risk for experiencing a co-occurring mental disorder than other individuals in their age range. ABAs working primarily with autistic individuals are certain to encounter such issues frequently in the course of their careers, including: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Depression
Anxiety
Those conditions can easily merge and overlap with ASD-issues.