Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP): A review of publications from 1990 to 2010.

Abstract

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), a model for psychotherapy based on radical behaviorism first developed by Kohlenberg and Tsai in 1991 (translated into Portuguese in 2001), proposes that the therapeutic relationship is the primary context for behavioral change in the therapeutic process for clients with interpersonal problems (Kohlenberg & Tsai, 2001; Kohlenberg, Tsai & Kanter, 2009). The authors suggest that everything the therapist needs and can use to help clients through the change process occurs during the session, in the therapeutic relationship. Specifically, FAP encourages the therapist to identify three classes of client clinically relevant behavior (CRB) occurring in session: CRB1, defined as behavioral problems occurring in session; CRB2, defined as behavioral improvements or progress in session, and CRB3, defined as the client's descriptions about the functional controlling variables of his behaviors (both inside and outside the session). FAP systematizes five rules around which the therapist should base treatment, including: (1) Observe the occurrence of CRBs, (2) Evoke CRBs, (3) Reinforce CRB2s, (4) Observe the reinforcing effects of therapist behavior on CRBs, and (5) Provide interpretations about the variables that affect client's behavior (Tsai et al, 2009). Since the FAP book appeared in 1991, many theoretical and empirical papers have appeared. These papers have been quite diverse. For example, several studies have been conducted to demonstrate how…