Behavior Chain Analysis is a huge part of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy . Most folks in DBT have at least one “Target Behavior.” It’s a behavior you want to decrease in your life. It could be anything from self-harm to chronic lateness. It’s important to address these behaviors and be honest about them in treatment because they can interfere with your progress in recovery.
There are several levels of Target Behaviors. There are life-threatening behaviors like self-harm. Then there are therapy-interfering behaviors like coming late to session. Quality of life interfering behaviors are things that make your life feel worse, like oversleeping. Then it gets more positive. You then want to increase behavioral skills that you learn in DBT, and create your Life Worth Living. As you address your Target Behaviors and move up this pyramid, your adaptive functioning will increase. That means you will get more skillful and your life will improve.
DBT programs generally require a behavior chain each time an interfering Target Behavior is used. Whether it’s in group or individual therapy, you’ll find yourself doing quite a few of these. Don’t be late or forget your Diary Card !
The idea behind behavior chains is that your behavior is the culmination of a whole chain of events and feeling. It was started by something that triggered emotions which triggered body sensations and actions and so on and so forth. It’s a bit like dominoes in the way that one tipped domino leads to the tipping of the rest. The goal is to learn how and where to step in to stop the rest of the dominoes from tipping.
The steps of a behavior chain are as follows:
Behavior Chains can often come with the language of “should.” It can become about what you “should’ve” done to intervene and stop the behavior rather than what you could do next time. DBT is not about “shoulds” in fact it’s actively anti-should. Try to talk about your behavior chain in the language of what you will do next time instead of changing the past.
