APA Dictionary of Psychology

a form of psychotherapy in which the therapist assesses the client’s significant Behaviors, Affective responses, Sensations, Imagery, Cognitions, Interpersonal relationships, and the need for Drugs and other biological interventions. The first letters yield the acronym BASIC ID, which summarizes the seven basic interactive modalities of the approach. MMT posits that these modalities exist in a state of reciprocal transaction and flux, connected by complex chains of behavior and other psychophysiological processes. The therapist, usually in concert with the client, determines which specific problems across the BASIC ID are most salient. MMT uses an eclectic approach drawing mainly from a broad-based social and cognitive learning theory. Also called multimodal behavior therapy. [developed by South African-born U.S. psychologist Arnold Allan Lazarus (1932–2013)]