Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple

Written by the founders of functional analytic psychotherapy, Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple is the first professional resource to offer a practical treatment approach focused on client interpersonal relationships. Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is a proven-effective treatment for mental health disorders, and has been shown to enhance the quality of interpersonal relationships. If you re a therapist, how you relate to your clients can have a profound impact on treatment outcomes. This book integrates the latest research on the importance of the therapist-client relationship with the new science of social connection into a user-friendly, contextual behavioral framework.In this book, you ll find an introduction of the promise and foundation of FAP with an emphasis on practice and reflection, and then dive deeper into each separate element of practice: assessment and case conceptualization, present-moment experience, emotions, self and values, exercises, mistakes in FAP, and getting unstuck in therapy. You ll also learn to help clients implement awareness, courage, and love as the basis of all social connection. Finally, you ll learn how this treatment model can be used to respond to some of the most challenging issues clinicians face, such as clients who aren t improving, clients with whom your relationship is very intense or volatile, clients who are hard to like, and clients with whom there is a lot of frustration or unspoken conflict.No matter your treatment background, this book will provide invaluable strategies for adopting functional analytic psychotherapy in your practice, enhancing relationships with your clients, and improving overall treatment outcomes.

“"This book stays with what has always been the strength of FAP: focus on the therapeutic relationship and functional analysis of that relationship as the central strategy for change. At the same time, it broadens the scope in a way that makes the basic principles more assessable to therapists of different schooling. In short: excellent!" --Niklas Trneke, MD , author of”

"Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple clearly and elegantly describes an approach that is incredibly useful for therapists and coaches. The authors explain how to consciously create a context that intentionally nurtures growth. The skill of functional analysis can be applied broadly, and this book explains this skill in a way that is easy to understand and apply. Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is about consciously moving into conversation with courage, awareness, and love. This book embodies this beautifully."
--Rachel Collis, executive coach; MBA lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
"After haunting psychotherapy theory for a century, the personal relationship between therapist and client has come to its own as the most powerful tool for therapeutic change. This book explains why and how the personal relationship is essential in the treatment of psychological problems. Seldom has a single volume covered such a broad array of skills and such depths of understanding. Weaving samples of clinical conversation into theory, it makes the complexities of the psychotherapy process--not so much simple, but rather--crystal clear. Its wisdom will cross cultural barriers because it speaks directly to what is at the heart of being human."
--Luc Vandenberghe, psychotherapist in private practice and faculty member at the Pontifical Catholic University of Goias, Brazil

"As a compassion-focused (CFT) therapist, I've been amazed at how profoundly the FAP training I've received has deepened both my understanding of the therapeutic relationship and my ability to engage in genuine, powerfully collaborative relationships with my clients. In Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple, these expert authors give us a guide that manages to convey the theory and practice of FAP in a way that is clear and easy to understand without losing any of its precision or subtlety. Filled with clear explanation, demonstrative vignettes, useful clinical tools, and reflective exercises, this wonderfully written book escorts the reader to a nuanced understanding of how to apply a functional-analytic approach to the therapeutic relationship--teaching us to use our most authentic selves as instruments of change and healing, and deepening our understanding of our clients and ourselves as relational beings. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple is the perfect introduction to a transformational therapy--highly recommended!"
--Russell L. Kolts, PhD, professor of psychology at Eastern Washington University, and author of CFT Made Simple and The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Managing Your Anger
"Awareness, courage, and love--these are words that many may instinctively deem 'unprofessional' in the context of psychotherapy. However, in this beautifully written book, readers look through the lens of functional analysis. This therapeutic stance and the activities referred to in this ACL framework are vital to the psychotherapeutic relationship, and lie at the core of FAP. The book will appeal to both those who enjoy a good empirically based model and those who are moved by philosophy--or those who respond to both. Students, new professionals, and clinicians that have been in practice for many years will benefit from the insights and exercises offered in this wonderful book."
--Christopher R. Martell, PhD, ABPP, lecturer and clinic director of the Psychological Services Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, coauthor of Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time and Behavioral Activation for Depression

"Countless research studies have shown that one of the most important factors to influence successful treatment outcomes is the therapeutic relationship. There's no intervention more powerful than using the present-moment interaction between client and therapist to experiment with new behaviors and promote behavioral flexibility. This book teaches clinicians how to effectively use the therapeutic relationship as a tool for behavioral change, and is a must-read for every clinician regardless of their theoretical orientation. This book provides practical tools for guiding clinicians on how to use the therapeutic interaction to foster behavioral change; offers specific steps to identify, track, and monitor both client and therapist's targeted behaviors for treatment, and modify them in the moment; and with its many worksheets, exercises, and sample dialogues, this book is the perfect resource for any clinician who wants to help clients build authentic and more fulfilling relationships."
--Avigail Lev, PsyD, director of the Bay Area CBT Center, and coauthor of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Interpersonal Problems, The Interpersonal Problems Workbook, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Couples
"For clinicians who want their therapy relationships to improve their clients' lives, this book is the place to start. A delight to read, Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple provides a clear and compassionate guide to helping therapists be present, supportive, and responsive to clients. The book is chock-full of vivid clinical examples, tools and worksheets, and helpful solutions for getting unstuck in therapy. The result is an excellent foundation for therapists to develop powerful curative relationships with clients, while being seamlessly grounded in the principles of behaviorism that underlie this therapy. Coming over a quarter century since the seminal book on FAP was released, and distilling the authors' forty-plus years of wisdom and experience, the book is a true achievement. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple is destined to become a gem in any clinician's library. I wish I had this book when I first learned FAP many years ago."
--Jonathan B. Bricker, PhD, behavioral scientist, psychology professor, and practicing FAP therapist

"FAP brings a unique perspective to the art of therapy. Built on a set of simple principles, it can help therapists and clients build unforgettable and transformative relationships. Whatever your approach, FAP can throw new light on the therapeutic process with precise and effective interventions. It's allowed me to work more flexibly with ACT by helping me to focus on present-moment awareness and interpersonal processes. Though its principles are simple, FAP is an exquisitely sensitive treatment approach. It certainly isn't easy. This book achieves the feat of making it simple by laying out FAP's awareness, courage, and love model in a uniquely accessible way. FAP can change your life and that of your clients. I wish I'd had this book eight years ago, when I first started using FAP principles in my clinical practice."
--Benjamin Schoendorff, international ACT trainer; director of the Contextual Psychology Institute in Montreal, QC, Canada; and coauthor of The Essential Guide to the ACT Matrix

"Getting training in FAP several years ago was a game changer in my own work, but I wish I had had Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple as a companion back then. The book perfectly conveys the richness of behavioral principles, and at the same time it takes you, step-by-step, through the process of integrating these principles into your daily practice. It is wonderfully written and inspiring; deep and clear; simple and powerful."
--Matthieu Villatte, PhD, author of Mastering the Clinical Conversation

"This book is absolutely beautifully written in terms of its prose and message. It offers a sound introduction to FAP, with excellent examples and coherent explanations of what FAP deems to be its core foci. It also works well as an extended description and discussion of the core concept of functional analysis, which is sadly missing from the existing literature. I am frequently asked to explain and illustrate functional analysis, and in the future I will be citing this work as the answer. Although it aims to 'make simple, ' the work is also adequately scholarly. It uses an appropriate level of citations, often missing in similar texts, which undermines the credibility of the proposed arguments. The level of detail provided on relevant studies is also perfect for the target audience. At a more general therapeutic level, the book highlights a very comprehensive and thorough understanding of issues central to competent therapeutic work (e.g., closure)."
--Yvonne Barnes-Holmes, associate professor of behavior analysis in the department of experimental clinical and health psychology, and faculty of psychology and educational studies at Ghent University in Belgium
"This book stays with what has always been the strength of FAP: focus on the therapeutic relationship and functional analysis of that relationship as the central strategy for change. At the same time, it broadens the scope in a way that makes the basic principles more assessable to therapists of different schooling. In short: excellent!"
--Niklas T�rneke, MD, author of Learning RFT and Metaphor in Practice, and coauthor of The ABCs of Human Behavior

Gareth Holman (Author)
Gareth Holman, PhD, is research scientist and associate director at the Evidence-Based Practice Institute in Seattle WA. He was Bob Kohlenberg's last graduate student at the University of Washington. At EBPI, Gareth designs, builds, and tests tools and trainings to help therapists feel more connected and do better work. Gareth is the lead trainer for FAP Level 1 online trainings and chairs the executive committee at the University of Washington Center for the Science of Social Connection.

Jonathan Kanter (Author)
Jonathan Kanter, PhD, received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Washington in 2002. He is currently assistant professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he directs the Depression Treatment Specialty Clinic which conducts research and provides behavioral therapy services. Kanter's research focuses on understanding the psychopathology and treatment of depression from a behavioral perspective, with particular emphasis on functional analytic psychotherapy and behavioral activation. He is currently funded by the Center for Addictions and Behavioral Health Research to conduct research on reducing the stigma associated with depression and by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Research Growth Initiative to develop and evaluate behavioral activation for Latino depression.

Mavis Tsai (Author)
Mavis Tsai, PhD, is cofounder of functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) and director of the FAP Clinic at the University of Washington. Mavis has an international following as a trainer, consultant, and clinician.

Robert Kohlenberg (Author)
Bob Kohlenberg, PhD, is cofounder of FAP and professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

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