Challenging behaviour and the need for evidenced-based services

One of the reasons for the adoption of the term ‘challenging behaviour’ was to provide a reminder that severely problematic or socially unacceptable behaviour should be seen as a challenge to services rather than a manifestation of psychopathological processes. In order to respond to this ‘challenge’ services need to promote positive behavioural development, reduce the occurrence of damaging behaviour and maintain people’s access to a decent quality of life despite continuing behavioural difficulties.