Taylor Brandy, OT/S

Functional Analysis for Adolescents:

Take Aways:
 Reason for why we do the things we do
 Long term consequences of behaviors
 Certain types of behaviors

Introduction: Introduce self, summarize the purpose of occupational therapy.

Explain that if they do not feel that group is assisting them personally, they can
always talk to me before or after group to work on anything on an individual basis.
Explain that group today will be about something called Functional Analysis which
is the basis for CBT.

Warm Up:
Play this or that game and have each participant introduce themselves before giving
their answer.
Coca-Cola or Pepsi
Dark chocolate or white Chocolate
Baseball or Basketball
Mystery or Romance
Country or Rap
Dog or Cat
Pen or Pencil
Spring or Fall
East coast or West coast

Activity:
Today we are going to look at our behaviors, and trying to critically think about why
we are doing things. So first I want everyone to think about what brought them here.
So now what we are going to do is break down some of these things. We are going to
do a functional analysis together so it may seem overcrowded. But remember, when
you do this on your own, it will look a little different. In functional analysis, we look
at triggers, feelings, and behaviors. Then we take these behaviors apart, by asking
why we do this? What do you get in the short term after you do this that feels good?
Then we go a step further and ask ourselves what the long-term consequences of
this are… So first we are going to start with behaviors.

Behaviors:
I want you to think about things you need to change before you leave here.
So what are some behaviors that you want to change?
***--- Allow for a pause if nobody responds. Be patient with them! --- ***
So now that we have a list of behaviors, I want you to think about what triggers
these things to happen…

Triggers:
Taylor Brandy, OT/S

What things in your life trigger these behaviors? What starts to make you feel like
you need to do that behavior?
***--- Allow for a pause if nobody responds. Be patient with them! --- ***
So now that we have a list of triggers, I want you to think about what you feel like
after you experience this trigger.

Optional if I feel that I have time…

Feelings:
What are you feeling? Not necessarily what are you thinking, but how do you feel?
Do you feel anxious? Do you feel angry?
***--- Allow for a pause if nobody responds. Be patient with them! --- ***
So now we have a little pattern appearing. We can now see that a trigger happens,
we feel a certain way, and now we do something because…
Lead into short term benefits: Why do we do these things?
***--- Allow for a pause if nobody responds. Be patient with them! --- ***

Short Term Benefits:

What about the behavior makes us feel good? Do we get some immediate relief?
What are some of the immediate or soon after benefits of doing this?
***--- Allow for a pause if nobody responds. Be patient with them! --- ***

Long Term Consequences:

What are some of the long term effects of these behaviors?
***--- Allow for a pause if nobody responds. Be patient with them! --- ***
What happens after you do this? Does it hurt anyone? Does it make the problem
worse?

Replacement Behaviors:
Okay, so now that we know why we are doing the things we are doing, I want you to
think of some activities that give you a similar feeling, with one condition. The
activities can’t have the same long-term consequences. I am giving you a list of 199
coping skills. See if any of those can spark some ideas for you. I want you to think of
at least one potential replacement.

What behaviors did you come up with? How do they make you feel similar to the
other behavior? Why is that a better option?

What did you guys think of this? How was it helpful? How so? What did you realize
about yourself? Thumbs up or thumbs down?