A RADICAL BEHAVIORAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP INEFFECTING CHANGE

This paper presents a behavior analytic understanding of the functiona l components of the therapeutic relationship. Whereas other models of understanding therapy have offered interpretations of the importance o f the client-therapist alliance, few have specified mechanisms respons ible for mediating change that have a foundation in experimental psych ology. Consistent with the radical behaviorally based Functional Analy tic Psychotherapy (FAP), we describe, using a contemporary understandi ng of verbal behavior, how the therapist establishes him or herself as a provider of social reinforcement in order to shape change using con tingent and noncontingent responding. We propose a reason why a limite d amount of client-therapist contact can produce large changes in beha vior. The paper closes with a description of a research strategy for e valuating the proposed model of effecting client change as a function of the therapeutic relationship.