Association for Behavior Analysis International

Behavioral Relaxation Training (BRT) according to Poppen is a behavioral and evidence-based relaxation method. It involves training the participant in relaxed body postures. The participant receives feedback on these body postures and learns to adopt these positions over several sessions to quickly induce a state of relaxation. With the Behavioral Relaxation Scale (BRS), BRT also provides an objective measurement method through which the state of relaxation can be reliably measured. Unfortunately, there are not many studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of BRT. In addition, there are few comparative studies between BRT and other, more common relaxation techniques. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is one of the most widely used relaxation programs. Unlike BRT, PMR does not involve feedback from the trainer. On the other hand, it can be used more easily in group settings. In the present study, 20 subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. After an initial assessment, the participants took part either in BRT or PMR. BRS was taken at very session. BRT proved to be superior to PMR both in the treatment phase and in a subsequent follow-up phase. Subjective feeling of relaxation with the participants improved more in the BRT than in PMR group.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a transdiagnostic treatment with potential applications for addressing diverse mental health issues, including those affecting college students. However, a notable knowledge gap persists concerning the influence of DBT on cognitive processes, particularly decision-making, through brief interventions. This study sought to examine the impact of video-DBT skills training on decision-making tasks among college students via an online platform. A total of ninety-five participants, comprising 50 men, 44 women, and one non-binary individual, were randomly allocated to four core DBT skills groups. These participants underwent DBT training and were subsequently evaluated using three behavioral decision-making tasks: the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), Delay Discounting (DD), and social discounting (SD). While intriguing trends in discounting rates and IGT performance were observable among various groups both before and after training, statistically significant differences were not identified either among the groups or within individual groups. Nonetheless, the study uncovered the potential of distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness skills in mitigating impulsivity and enhancing prosocial behavior. Furthermore, further investigation is warranted to explore the prospects of DBT skills training as a brief teleintervention, which could yield cost savings and enhance accessibility for a broader population.