Interventions based on training in mindfulness skills are becoming increasingly popular. Mindfulness involves intentionally bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment, and is often taught through a variety of meditation exercises. This review summarizes conceptual approaches to mind-fulness and empirical research on the utility of mindfulness-based interventions. Meta-analytic techniques were incorporated to facilitate quantification of findings and comparison across studies. Although the current empirical literature includes many methodological flaws, findings suggest that mindfulness-based interventions may be helpful in the treatment of several disorders. Methodologically sound investigations are recommended in order to clarify the utility of these interventions.

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Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical Review

This article offers objectification theory as a framework for understanding the experiential consequences of being female in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body. Objectification the...

Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks:

Revue de la litterature traitant des effets des agressions sexuelles contre des enfants et discussion de leurs effets immediats et a long terme et de l'impact des differents types d'agression

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Impact of child sexual abuse: a review of the research.

Syndromal classification is a well-developed diagnostic system but has failed to deliver on its promise of the identification of functional pathological processes. Functional analysis is tightly connected to treatment but has failed to develop testable. replicable classification systems. Functional diagnostic dimensions are suggested as a way to develop the functional classification approach, and experiential avoidance is described as 1 such dimension. A wide range of research is reviewed showing that many forms of psychopathology can be conceptualized as unhealthy efforts to escape and avoid emotions, thoughts, memories, and other private experiences. It is argued that experiential avoidance, as a functional diagnostic dimension, has the potential to integrate the efforts and findings of researchers from a wide variety of theoretical paradigms, research interests, and clinical domains and to lead to testable new approaches to the analysis and treatment of behavioral disorders.

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Experiential avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment.

Part I: The Basic Account. 1. Language and Cognition: Constructing an Alternative Approach Within the Behavioral Tradition S.C. Hayes, et al. 2. Derived Relational Responding as Learned Behavior S.C. Hayes, et al. 3. Multiple Stimulus Relations and the Transformation of Stimulus Functions D. Barnes-Holmes, et al. 4. Relations Among Relations: Analogies, Metaphors, and Stories I. Stewart, et al. 5. Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Pragmatic Verbal Analysis S.C. Hayes, et al. 6. Understanding and Verbal Regulation D. Barnes-Holmes, et al. 7. Self and Self-Directed Rules D. Barnes-Holmes, et al. 8. Relational Frame Theory: A Precis S.C. Hayes, et al. Part II: Extensions and Applications. 9. Psychological Development Y. Barnes-Holmes, et al. 10. Education Y. Barnes-Holmes, et al. 11. Social Processes B. Roche, et al. 12. Psychopathology and Psychotherapy K.G. Wilson, et al. 13. Religion, Spirituality, and Transcendence D. Barnes-Holmes, et al. Epilogue. References. Index.

Relational Frame Theory: A Post-Skinnerian Account Of Human Language And Cognition

1Introduction- Philosophical Tenets of Radical Behaviorism- Contextual Nature of Knowledge and Reality- Nonmentalistic View of Behavior: The Focus on Environmental Variables That Control Behavior- Focal Interest in Verbal Behavior Controlled by Directly Observed Events- Theoretical Underpinnings of FAP- Reinforcement- Specification of Clinically Relevant Behavior- Arranging for Generalization- 2Clinical Application of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy- Client Problems and Clinically Relevant Behaviors- CRB1: Client Problems That Occur in Session- CRB2: Client Improvements That Occur in Session- CRB3: Client Interpretations of Behavior- Assessment- Therapeutic Technique-The Five Rules- Rule 1: Watch for CRBs- Rule 2: Evoke CRBs- Rule 3: Reinforce CRB2s- Rule 4: Observe the Potentially Reinforcing Effects of Therapist Behavior in Relation to Client CRBs- Rule 5: Give Interpretations of Variables That Affect Client Behavior- Case Illustration- 3Supplementation: Enhancing Therapist Awareness of Clinically Relevant Behavior- Classification of Verbal Behavior- The FAP Client Response Classification System- Classification and the Observation of Clinically Relevant Behavior- Examples of Classifications of Client Responses- Therapeutic Situations That Frequently Evoke Clinically Relevant Behavior- 4The Role of Emotions and Memories in Behavior Change- Emotions- Learning the Meanings of Feelings- Feelings as Causes of Behavior- Expressing Feelings- Avoiding Feelings- Degree of Contact with Controlling Variables- Memories- Clinical Implications- Offer a Behavioral Rationale for Getting in Touch with Feelings- Increase Private Control of Feelings- Increase Therapist Expression of Feelings- Enhance Client Contact with Controlling Variables- Case Illustration- 5Cognitions and Beliefs- Cognitive Therapy- Problems with Cognitive Therapy and the ABC Paradigm- Revised Formulation of Cognitive Therapy- The FAP Revision of A ? B ? C- Contingency-Shaped Behavior- Tacts and Mands: Two Types of Verbal Behavior- Rule-Governed Behavior- Cognitive Structures and Contingency-Shaped Behavior- Clinical Implications of the FAP View of Beliefs- Focus on Thinking in the Here and Now- Take into Account the Varying Role That Thoughts Can Play- Offer Relevant Explanations of Client Problems- Use Direct Cognitive Manipulation with Caution- Case Illustration- 6The Self- Common Definitions of the Self- A Behavioral Formulation of Self- Basic Concepts- The Emergence of "I" as a Small Functional Unit- Qualities of the "I"- Maladaptive Development of the Self Experience- Less Severe Disturbances of the Self- Severe Disturbances of the Self- Clinical Implications- Reinforce Talking in the Absence of Specific External Cues- Match Therapeutic Tasks to the Level of Private Control in the Client's Repertoire- Reinforce as Many Client "I X" Statements as Possible- 7Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: A Bridge between Psychoanalysis and Behavior Therapy- FAP in Contrast with Psychodynamic Approaches- Transference- The Therapeutic Alliance- Object Relations- FAP in Contrast with Current Behavior Therapies- FAP: A Unique Niche between Psychoanalysis and Behavior Therapy- 8Reflections on Ethical, Supervisory, Research, and Cultural Issues- Ethical Issues- Proceed Cautiously- Avoid Sexual Exploitation- Guard against the Continuation of a Nonbeneficial Treatment- Be Aware of Prejudicial and Oppressive Values- Avoid Emotional Tyranny- FAP Supervision- Research and Evaluation- Pitfalls of Traditional Research Paradigms- Alternative Methods of Data Collection that Influence Clinical Practice- Cultural Problems Due to Loss of Contact- Conclusion- References

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy : Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships

To examine factors contributing to the differential adjustment of women sexually molested as children, three groups of 30 women each were recruited to participate in this study: (a) a clinical group consisting of women seeking therapy for problems associated with childhood molestation; (b) a nonclinical group consisting of women molested as children but who had never sought therapy and considered themselves to be well adjusted; and (c) a control group of women who had not been molested. Findings indicate that the clinical group was significantly less well adjusted than either the nonclinical or control group on measures of psychosexual functioning and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. In addition, women in the clinical group differed significantly from women in the nonclinical group in terms of (a) age at which last molestation occurred and (b) frequency and duration of molestation. It is proposed that differences in adult adjustment may be mediated by emotional responses evoked at the time of the incident(s), which in turn can be linked to the frequency and duration of molestation and to developmental factors associated with the age of last molestation.

Childhood molestation: variables related to differential impacts on psychosexual functioning in adult women.

A neglected class of sexual assault victims consists of women who were molested as children. In response to their unmet needs, therapy groups composed solely of women who were sexually abused in their childhood have been established. The goals of these groups are twofold: (1) the alleviation of sexual guilt and shame and (2) the clarification of emotional and behavioral consequences of molestation. Ten groups have been conducted, each containing four to six members, comprising an overall total of 50 women. In 97% of the cases, a prior relationship had existed between perpetrator and victim. Treatment consisted of a four-session format. During session I, each group participant described her molestation experiences in detail. Sessions II and III focused on how these experiences have affected the women. Session IV dealt with individual stages of recovery and further treatment plans. Clinical findings included feelings of guilt and depression, negative self-image, and problems in interpersonal relationships associated with an underlying mistrust of men, inadequate social skills, and difficulties in sexual functioning. Evaluations of the therapy groups by the participants indicated that the primary curative component was the sense of identification and emotional closeness instilled by a warm and supportive environment where a common bond was shared.

Therapy groups for women sexually molested as children.

Our radical behavioral interpretation of psychotherapy leads to the unexpected conclusion that the psychotherapeutic relationship is at the core of the therapeutic process. Unexpected, we say, because others usually cast radical behaviorism in the opposite camp, one in which the therapist avoids or discounts the value of a deep, emotional therapeutic relationship. Carl Rogers, for instance, commented, “To me [Skinner’s world] would destroy the human person as I have come to know him… in relationship… in the deepest moments of psychotherapy” (1961, p. 391).

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Functional Analytic Psychotherapy

, FAP has developed a strong following among therapists interested in the relational and interpersonal aspects of psychotherapy and human functioning, yet who are too strongly committed to testable hypotheses and integration with basic science to forego their behavioral roots. FAP is a comprehensive, ground-up approach to behaviorally conceptualizing therapist behavior within sessions to create optimal contingencies for client change and treatment implementation. The uniqueness of FAP lies in the recognition that no specific therapist behavior will serve to heighten intimacy and trust in the therapeutic relationship when provided by therapists that differ by appearance, gender, ethnicity, or temperament; genuine behaviors arise from contingent responses to client behavior, and a mindful awareness of which client behaviors require a response. For this reason, there is a certain difficulty in capturing the sense of a FAP intervention due to the importance of both the functional assessment and the therapist’s use of her own style and self as an instrument of change; for example, a disclosure of a clinically relevant personal loss will vary by therapist (e.g., Tsai et al., 2010), and a reaction that one client perceives as warm or encouraging by one therapist might sound strained or disingenuous coming from a different clinician. Though increasingly labeled a “third wave” behavioral therapy, FAP is fundamentally grounded in the Skinnerian tradition of a strong behavioral assessment (i.e., the titular functional analysis) of the client’s interpersonal repertoire as experienced by the therapist.

Mavis Tsai

Papers

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy : Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships

Childhood molestation: variables related to differential impacts on psychosexual functioning in adult women.

Therapy groups for women sexually molested as children.

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy

A Guide to Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Awareness, Courage, Love, and Behaviorism