As behavioral techniques become increasingly scrutinized and regulated, the extent to which a practitioner can justify treatment selection becomes more important. It is no longer enough to base treatment acceptability on a single or limited number of factors. In order to provide the most benefit to the individual, while at the same time adhering to policies and regulations at various levels, several factors must be considered. We have identified and described 12 different factors and grouped them into four categories: Efficacy considerations, secondary effects, social/legal implications, and practical considerations. The 12 factors include motivational variables, treatment effectiveness, side effects, abuse potential, treatment restrictive-ness/intrusiveness, treatment precedence, social acceptability, regulatory factors, staff competence, staff cooperation, treatment efficiency, and cost effectiveness. We suggest that all 12 factors are important in the conceptualization of treatment acceptability, and provide a model for consideration of each factor in the treatment selection process.
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