Contingency management

Contingency management (CM) is a type of clinical behavior analysis therapy which is most-widely used in the field of substance abuse. CM refers to the application of the three-term contingency of operant conditioning, using stimulus control and consequences to alter behavior. Patients' behaviors are rewarded (or, less often, punished); generally, adherence to or failure to adhere to program rules and regulations or their treatment plan. CM derives from the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA), and by most evaluations, its procedures produces one of the largest effect sizes out of all mental health and educational interventions.