Abstract

BRANDAO, Maria Zilah da Silva. Behavioral therapy and functional analysis of the therapeutic relationship: clinic strategies. Rev. bras. ter. comport. cogn. [online]. 1999, vol.1, n.2, pp. 179-187. ISSN 1517-5545.

The principles of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) come from a radical behaviorist position, in which the main idea is that Clinically Relevant Behaviors occur during the psychotherapy session, in therapist-client interaction. Thus, behaviors can be submitted to clinic intervention based on observation and direct modeling, by natural reinforcement during session. This project considers the contribution of this approach (FAP) in the systematization of strategies that focus on the therapeutic relationship, on the "here and now" of the behavioral analysis session. This project also suggests a case study in which the patient, a 42 years old man who tried suicide a few times, learns how to identify, analyze and change his compulsive avoidance of "hard" and painful things due to the therapeutic relationship analysis. The avoidance is considered a Clinically Relevant Behavior since its excess or deficit can originate other behavioral problems. Other considerations about avoidance behavior and functional analysis of the therapeutic relationship are here presented, and the results of these strategies are discussed in terms of viability of the method for the psychotherapist.

Keywords : avoidance; acceptance therapy; functional analytic psychotherapy; emotional tolerance; behavioral clinic analysis.

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