HELPING PEOPLE IMPROVE THEIR LIVES WITH BEHAVIOR-THERAPY

If the aim of behavior therapy is to help individuals with clinical pr oblems improve their lives, then the field has been, and will continue to be, an outstanding success. However, the same problems that were p resent for therapy researchers in the beginning days of the field rema in, namely, how to improve the results of treatment, and what mechanis ms underlie the effectiveness of treatment. Some current approaches to these problems are outlined largely in reference to the eating disord ers. The advent of managed care will, in my opinion, be advantageous f or the further development of behavior therapy, which is likely to rem ain a strong field, ultimately linking therapeutic behavior change wit h neurochemical changes in the central nervous system.