Hi Luc,

Like most things in FAP, the answer to your question here depends on who you
ask. Here is what we have been working on in Milwaukee, but I'm sure others
have very different approaches, and in FAP, we LOVE those differences!

This is an excerpt from a manual we've been working on (Sara did 90% of it).
Hope it is helpful.

Providing the treatment rationale

When starting therapy, the FAP therapist may give two rationales: one during the
initial session and then the full FAP rationale, usually in session three. We
have found that presenting the full FAP rationale earlier results in
misunderstanding, and it is better if the therapist has learned about the
client’s goals and potential CRBs to use as examples when providing the
rationale, before providing it. However, an initial rationale in session one
may set the stage. The initial rationale will be an explanation that the
therapy relationship is a real relationship and will therefore take time to
develop, just as a “real” relationship does in one’s daily life. The first few
sessions will be a time for the therapist and client to begin to know one
another and build rapport. For example, a therapist may say the following as an
initial rationale, “Our relationship in therapy is like relationships that you
have with other people in your daily life. As such, it will take us some time
to get to know one another and build our relationship.”

We loosely recommend presenting the full rationale in session three. However,
for some clients the relationship may build very quickly and the full rationale
may be given earlier, even in session one. The full FAP rationale explains the
premise of FAP in lay terms to the client. It involves discussing the reason
for focusing on the here and now (in-vivo) and why therapy will involve
focusing on the therapeutic relationship. Below are three brief examples of
such rationales.

• The most powerful kind of interaction is based on the present, when something
you say affects me, or something I say affects you. Therapy has more impact
when you talk about your experience in the present moment, like feelings of
being depressed and anxious, or thoughts of being unsure of yourself that are
happening in the session rather than just reporting about those feelings during
the week. When we look at something that is happening right now, we can
experience and understand it more fully and therapeutic change is stronger and
more immediate.

• The therapy relationship provides opportunities to learn how to express
yourself fully and create better relationships. It will be helpful for us to
focus on our interaction if you have issues or difficulties that come up with
me which also come up with other people in your life (such as co-workers,
acquaintances, supervisors, friends, partner or spouse). When one expresses
one’s thoughts, feelings, and desires in an authentic, caring and assertive
way, one is less likely to be depressed.

• Sometimes the things you are depressed about, and your depression itself, will
show up in our sessions. For example, I know you feel hopeless about your
relationship with your wife, and in turn there may be times when you feel
hopeless in here, with me, about our work. That is o.k. if that happens. In
fact, when things like that happen, when your depression shows up in here, it
will be very important for us to take notice. That is because when things
happen live between us, they are special opportunities for us to do real work
and to really help you understand and change what is happening to you, as it is
happening.

When giving the client the FAP rationale the therapist should use specific
examples (as demonstrated above). Ideally, these examples will be of events
that have already occurred in session. If none exist, the therapist can also
use daily life examples given by the client during the FIAT assessment and
point out how similar situations might arise with the therapist. After giving
the FAP rationale, the therapist should elicit client feedback. When asking for
feedback it is important to ask open-ended questions in order generate
discussion. It is vital for the therapist to gauge where the client is in terms
of their reaction to the rationale (Addis & Carpenter, 2000). Therapists should
be flexible and open to client reactions to the FAP rationale. They should also
be open to the possibility that FAP is not appropriate for all clients.

Often times, early in therapy the client will not fully understand the rationale
that the therapeutic relationship is a real one. In general, this client
behavior will NOT be a CRB1, as many clients have been socialized to expect a
more traditional doctor-patient relationship from the therapist. However, if
the client engages in ineffective functionally similar behavior outside of
session this behavior would be considered a CRB1.

Jonathan

Quoting "luc.vandenberghe" <luc.vandenberghe@...>:

> Could anyone tell us something about the FAP RAP? What are it's
> standard contents? (And how much time is usualy dedicated to covering
> these contents?) Surely these must be adapted to different clients
> with different daily life problems? How is this done?
>
> Hoping this evokes some responses,
>
> Luc
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
Jonathan W. Kanter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor & Psychology Clinic Coordinator
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201
Office: Garland Hall 238C
(414) 229-3834