It is critical to ground oneself in up to date, evidenced models of care that help one understand the function of behavior in context. Stepping out of biased, moral judgment traps is important both to the client and to the staff member – working with people at the intersection of criminal and legal involvement is riddled with judgment bias. All in all, I have found that thinking about behavior in context to be a very helpful frame for both assessment and intervention on the personal, systemic and policy levels – a natural fit for social workers.
Russ Harris, PhD explains this concept really well – particularly on the personal/evolutionary level – you can find some of his videos here.
The Function of Behavior in Context
If we zoom out a bit, we can think about most behaviors as falling into two buckets –generally as behaviors that either move us toward or away from experiences.
There are away moves, behavior under adverse control, things that you do to move away from something you don’t want. These actions are not inherently good or bad, they just function to move away from an experience (think of some of the more benign actions, such as taking aspirin when one has a headache, or drinking coffee to get away from feeling tired). These are short term solutions driven by relief seeking, which are often very effective in the moment AND explain a lot of the behavior we see in the behavior connected to addiction.
- When a person who has overdosed decides to use the same substance shortly after in order to avoid the withdrawal symptoms;
- People who have experienced trauma using substances to numb the painful memories;
- People who act violently because they are feeling scared, judged, angry;
- People who opt out of participating in group events (e.g., AA or NA, etc…) because they feel uncomfortable in a crowd.
The catch is that these strategies work (with various degrees of effectiveness)– IN THE SHORT RUN. Remember, away moves are neither good or bad in and of themselves; it depends upon the function of the behavior in a specific context.
Then there is behavior under appetitive control, things that you do to move toward who/what is most important. These are long term solutions, which require committed action – on a moment to moment, ongoing basis, such as being a:
- Loving husband;
- Caring, nurturing father;
- Dependable worker;
- Patient friend.
It is not just individuals – agencies are governed by these same controls, where success is defined by the absence of adverse consequences.
- Incarceration, probation, parole, etc…
- Completing a sentence, completing probation/parole
- The behavioral health field
- Someone comes to treatment and through therapy their symptoms no longer bother them.
There is significant evidence to suggest that long term behavioral change is not just connected to the absence of adverse control but the development of appetitive controls – in other words engaging in behaviors that connect to a sense of meaning and purpose is one’s life. Research also shows that one’s subjective sense of suffering is preceded by a return to appetitive behaviors – meaning – we need not wait to feel better before doing the things in our lives that are important; and moreover, the act of engaging in meaningful ways actually leads to a reduction in suffering.
If you want to read more about this perspective, here is the referenced research paper. Gloster, A.T.,Klotsche, J., Ciarrochi, J., Eifert, G., Sonntag, R., Wittchen, H.U., Hoyer, J. (2017). Increasing valued behaviors precedes reduction in suffering: Findings from a randomized controlled trial using ACT. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 64-71.
