walking the middle path & the biosocial theory

WALKING THE MIDDLE PATH & THE BIOSOCIAL THEORY

The Child, Adolescent & Family Recovery Center 1

The Child, Adolescent & Family Recovery Center

Walking the Middle Path


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ACCEPTANCE AND CHANGE

Walking the Middle Path


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HOW DO WE WALK THE MIDDLE PATH??

DIALECTICS

VALIDATION

BEHAVIORISM

Dialectics:What does it mean?


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WHAT DOES DIALECTICS MEAN??HOW DO WE THINK AND ACT

DIALECTICALLY?? Multiple points of view

Examples – Multiple ways to solve a problem

Both/And thinking Examples: Avoid “my way or the highway” or “all or nothing” thinking

Change is constant

Dialectics:Dialectical Dilemmas


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PathologizingNormal Behavior

Foster Dependen

ce

AuthoritarianControl

ExcessiveLeniency

ForcingAutonomy

Normalizing Pathological Behavior

Validation:Levels of Validation Level One

Overall showing interest in the other person (verbal and non-verbal cues)

Level Two Reflective Listening.

Summarizing what the other person has said.

Take a non-judgmental stance

Level Three Try to “read” a person’s

behaviors, imagine what they could be feeling, thinking, or wishing for. Walking in their shoes. Check for accuracy.

Level Four Validate the person’s

behavior in terms of causes (like past events)

Validate feelings. I.e. “since your new boss reminds you of your past boss, I can understand that you would feel fearful of meeting with her.”

Level Five Communicate the person’s

behavior is reasonable, meaningful, and effective.

Level Six Treat the person as a valid

human being- not patronizing or condescending.

Recognize a person as they are- with strengths and limitations.

Be genuine! And Believe in that person, while seeing their pain.

Validation:Validate Self


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WHAT DOES VALIDATE MEAN??

COMFORT YOURSELF BY...

OBSERVE AND DESCRIBE CURRENT EMOTIONS

ACKNOWLEDGE EMOTIONS AS REAL NO MATTER WHAT THE EMOTION OR SITUATION

YOU ARE THE EXPERT ON YOU!

DON’T EXPECT OTHERS TO KNOW HOW YOU FEEL – work to communicate feelings to others and deal with feelings in a more productive way

Validation:Validating Others


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OBSERVE THE EXPERIENCE – NON JUDGEMENTALLY AND WITH ACKNOWLEDGMENT

DESCRIBE THE BEHAVIOR YOU SEE WITH FACTS

VALIDATION DOES NOT MEAN AGREEMENT OR APPROVAL

VALIDATION = TELLING SOMEONE YOU “GET IT”

LEVELS OF VALIDATION

Validation:An invalidating environment is one that:


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Pervasively:

negates,

punishes,

corrects,

ignores or

dismisses behavior…

…whether it is valid behavior or not.

Behavioraltech.org

- Indiscriminately rejects communication of private experiences and self-initiated behaviors

- Intermittently reinforces escalation of emotional responses and displays

- Instead, the environment teaches individuals to actively self-invalidate and search social environment for cues about how to respond.

Validation: An invalidating environment teaches adolescents to


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1. Invalidate themselves and look to their social environment for cues on how to respond because their environment unknowingly rejects communication of private experiences and uncomfortable behaviors.

2. Oscillate between emotional inhibition and extreme emotional styles due to the environment punishing emotional displays and unintentionally reinforcing emotional escalation.

3. Form unrealistic goals and expectations as the environment over-simplifies the ease of problem-solving and meeting goals.

Behavioraltech.org

Behaviorism


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PROMOTING CHANGE IN BEHAVIORS

REINFORCEMENT

SHAPING

EXTINCITION OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS

INCREASING HEALTHY AND EFFECTIVE USE OF DBT COPING STRATEGIES

Behaviorism

The Child, Adolescent and Family Development Center would recommend reading Don’t Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training, by Karen Pryor.

Behaviorism: (Adapted from Don’t Shoot the Dog) Reinforcement Shaping* Untraining- Using reinforcement to get rid

of behaviors you do not want Eliminate the object/person Punishment Negative Reinforcement Extinction Train an incompatible behavior Put the behavior on cue Shape the Absence Change the motivation

BIOSOCIAL THEORYWHERE DIALECTICAL

BEHAVIOR THERAPY COMES FROM

Biosocial Theory


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Biological dysfunction* in

the emotion regulation

system+

an Invalidating environment

= Pervasive Emotion

Dysregulation

Behavioraltech.org

Pervasive Emotional

Dysregulation =

Emotional Vulnerability

*+

Inability to Modulate Emotions

Biological Dysfunction in the emotion regulation system of adolescents:


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Problem Areas Skills

1. Confusion about self 1. Mindfulness

2. Impulsivity 2. Distress Tolerance

3. Emotional Instability 3. Emotion Regulation

4. Interpersonal Problems 4. Interpersonal Effectiveness

5. Adolescent-Family 5. Walking the Middle Path

DilemmasBehavioraltech.org

What do we mean by Emotional Vulnerability?


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•High Sensitivity•Immediate reactions•Low threshold for emotional reaction

•High Reactivity•Extreme reactions•High arousal dysregulates cognitive processing

•Slow return to baseline•Long-lasting reactions•Contributes to high sensitivity to next emotional stimulus

Behavioraltech.org

So what do we mean by Inability to Modulate Emotions?


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Difficulty managing inappropriate behaviors related to strong emotions

Difficulty acting in a way that is not mood dependant

Difficulty self-soothing

Difficulty refocusing attention in the presence of a strong emotion

Behavioraltech.org

What is Biosocial Theory?


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Biological Dysfunction in the emotion regulation system

+ an Invalidating environment

= Pervasive Emotion

DysregulationBehavioraltech.org

walking the middle path & the biosocial theory

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