When behaviour analysis was beginning to gain popularity in the West, the Czech Republic was strongly influenced by Marxist ideology, resulting in its rejection of knowledge coming from there. In one example from a Czech journal at that time, Vláčil (1975) argued that the emergence of behaviourism was conditioned not only by the development of psychological theory, but more importantly by the broader social context and the historical situation in capitalist countries. As a result, theories developed in the region which diminished the importance of 
a man as a subject of history and, therefore, the importance of his consciousness. Even today, in the Czech professional circles, one can still encounter misunderstandings of the basic principles of behaviour or notions that behaviourists equate human beings with lower animals or automatic machines. 
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s, Czech social sciences regained their independence and started to catch up with the rest of the developed world. The Czech Society of CBT was founded in 1991 and CBT is currently one of the mainstream approaches in the treatment of a wide range of psychological problems from anxiety and depression to eating disorders.

Speaker bio
D Prof. Karel Pančocha is Director of the Centre for Applied Behaviour Analysis at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic and the Institute for Research in Inclusive Education (IRIE). The IRIE is a dynamic department which was derived from and closely cooperates with the Department of Special and Inclusive 
Education, Faculty of Education at Masaryk University. IRIE guarantees and delivers the study programme Special Andragogy focusing on adults with special educational needs/disability (SEN). IRIE emphasizes a close connection of education and practice. Therefore, IRIE actively cooperates with a number of
institutions and NGOs. Apart from lecturing, it also carries its practically oriented research aiming at improvement of education and employment opportunities of persons with SEN, enhancing their independent life and social inclusion.

Registration:  https://behaviorlive.com/events/shaping-autism-care-in-the-czech-republic-historical-perspectives-and-political

This event is free and carries 1.5 CEU (ethics)

Recording of the webinar will be available shortly after the event at:

Resources | Centre for Behaviour Analysis | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk)

For further information Centre for Behaviour Analysis at www.qub.ac.uk/cba

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