Behavioural rehearsal and homework

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Arnold Lazarus · 1966

What it is

This is a family of techniques used across behaviour therapy and CBT. It is not a stand-alone therapy, has no single manual and no certifying body. You slot it into a case formulation (assertiveness, social anxiety, depression, relapse prevention, couples work) instead of running it as a full…

Format

• A. The rehearsal cycle (inside one session or across several). Main source: the Bellack et al. 2004 group format as taught by VA (Kinnaman 2009). Individual-therapy adaptation from Freedland & Meyer-Kalos 2015.
• Assign specific practice outside the session.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• The client role-plays again, then gets more feedback. Repeat; the VA training aims for about three role plays per person per session.
• Version followed: Arnold Lazarus's behaviour rehearsal (Wolpe & Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus, 2005 encyclopedia entry), delivered with the structured skills-teaching sequence of Bellack, Mueser, Gingerich & Agresta (2004) as used in VA training. Homework follows the Kazantzis "engagement" model (Kazantzis, MacEwan & Dattilio, 2005; Kazantzis & Miller, 2022; Ryum & Kazantzis, 2024) and the Beck Institute…
• This is a family of techniques used across behaviour therapy and CBT. It is not a stand-alone therapy, has no single manual and no certifying body. You slot it into a case formulation (assertiveness, social anxiety, depression, relapse prevention, couples work) instead of running it as a full treatment.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Between-session tasks generalise the gains and give real-world evidence that can be used to reappraise key beliefs.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Tasks the client can't state back. It is working when the client can repeat the plan without looking.
• Treating the score as a verdict. It is working when it opens up an honest conversation about the task.
• Framing so loose that nothing is agreed. It is working when the client engages without feeling pressured.
• Over-prompting that makes the client depend on you. It is working when the client needs fewer prompts with each run.
• The client agreeing without being able to explain why. It is working when they can state the purpose in their own words.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.