Behavior therapy empowers persons with severe mental illness.

The author wrote a position paper, not an experiment.

He argued that behavior therapy gives power back to adults with severe mental illness.

The paper listed ways to do this: offer simple choices, teach daily skills, and train families.

No new data were collected.

The message: when you use behavioral tools the right way, clients keep or gain control over their own lives.

Therapists should act as coaches, not bosses.

Cooper et al. (1990) extends this idea. They ran a prison program that taught social and living skills to mentally ill inmates. The skills classes put the empowerment claim into real practice.

Prasher et al. (1995) show the therapist side. In panic treatment they found that early warmth and listening build trust. Their session data back up the paper’s call for a coaching stance.

Hattier et al. (2011) surveyed second- and third-wave CBT therapists. Both groups already use wide toolkits, so adding empowerment tactics fits what many are doing.

You can start next session by giving your client two clear choices: "Do you want to work on cooking or budgeting first?" Then teach the skill in small steps and let them practice. Train family members to do the same at home. These tiny choice points add up to real autonomy for adults who are often told what to do.