Behavioural Therapy in BC | Effective Behaviour Therapy for All Ages
Behavioural therapy is a practical, results-focused approach that helps you change unwanted behaviours and build positive habits. Our BCACC-registered therapists in BC offer behavioural therapy online throughout British Columbia for children, teens, adults, and families.
Whether you're struggling with ADHD, anxiety, anger management, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or substance use, behaviour therapy provides concrete strategies to replace problematic patterns with healthier responses. Through personalized behaviour therapy, you'll learn new skills, eliminate triggers, and create lasting change in how you respond to challenging situations.
Accessible from anywhere in BC, including Vancouver, Kamloops, and beyond, our online behavioural therapy makes evidence-based treatment convenient and effective for all ages.
What is Behaviour Therapy?
Behaviour therapy is a treatment designed to address behavioural issues by changing learned behaviours. The therapy focuses on replacing unwanted behaviours with desired ones, teaching new responses to various situations.
A key element of behaviour therapy is the use of a reward system. For instance, a child might receive a reward for completing homework, which encourages them to repeat the behaviour. Parents and teachers play a vital role by consistently applying these principles and responding appropriately to both wanted and unwanted behaviours. For teens, behavioural therapy often involves identifying triggers for problematic behaviours and learning alternative responses, whether that's managing anger differently or resisting peer pressure.
Adults use behaviour therapy to break unwanted habits, overcome phobias through gradual exposure, manage compulsive behaviours, or address substance use patterns by eliminating triggers and building healthier routines. Couples can apply behavioural principles to improve communication and reduce relationship conflicts by reinforcing positive interactions. This method reinforces positive actions through recognition and rewards.
The primary goals of behaviour therapy include:
Encouraging desired behaviours through praise.
Ignoring minor unwanted behaviours to discourage them.
Imposing appropriate consequences for more serious unwanted behaviours.
Eliminating triggers that lead to undesired actions.
Behaviour therapy is suitable for individuals of all ages and can be conducted in individual or group settings. Whether you're a parent learning behaviour management skills, a teen working on anger control, or an adult breaking free from anxiety-driven avoidance, behaviour therapy provides clear strategies you can practice immediately.
How Behavioural Therapy Differs from Other Approaches
While Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) addresses both thoughts and behaviours, behavioural therapy focuses exclusively on changing actions and responses without necessarily exploring underlying thoughts or beliefs. This makes behaviour therapy especially effective when you need concrete, measurable change in specific behaviours like tantrums, avoidance, compulsions, or substance use.
Unlike psychodynamic therapy, which explores unconscious patterns and past experiences, behavioural therapy works in the present moment with observable actions. Behaviour therapy is also more structured than general counselling. Your therapist will set clear goals, track specific behaviours, and use systematic techniques like exposure, reinforcement schedules, and behavioural experiments.
If you're dealing with severe emotional dysregulation and need skills training, DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) might be more appropriate as it combines behavioural techniques with emotional regulation and mindfulness. However, if you have a specific behaviour you want to change - whether it's a phobia, a habit, a compulsion, or a pattern of avoidance - behavioural therapy offers the most direct, action-focused path to that change.
Behaviour therapy can effectively address various challenges, including:
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Anxiety disorders (including phobias)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (via Applied Behaviour Analysis)
Behavioural disorders (like Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
Depression
Eating disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Anger management issues
Substance use disorders
Duration of Behaviour Therapy
The length of therapy varies by individual and issue. Typically, it requires around eight sessions for parents to learn effective behaviour management skills, which should be practiced outside of therapy to ensure lasting results.
Book Behavioural Therapy in BC Today
Ready to make meaningful changes in your behaviour and build healthier habits? Our experienced therapists offer behavioural therapy online throughout British Columbia, making evidence-based treatment accessible whether you're in Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, Kelowna, or anywhere across BC.
We work with children, teens, adults, and families, accepting CVAP, ICBC, and WorkBC claims. Services are available in English and Portuguese. Through personalized behaviour therapy, you'll get practical strategies and consistent support to create lasting change.
Book your behavioural therapy session today and take the first step toward the positive changes you want to see.
Terapia comportamental disponível em português