COMBINED APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES AND FAMILY THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHILDHOOD ENCOPRESIS: A STRATEGIC APPROACH.

The strategic use of clinical techniques derived from more than one theoretical perspective in the treatment of complex clinical cases is noted. Two cases using the combined application of behavioral techniques and family systems theory for the treatment of dysfunctional families with encopretic children are presented as examples of such an approach to family therapy. The implications of the combined use of these treatment modalities, employed in a synergistic way, are considered for the encopretic symptom and for the family system in which it may be embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]