Call for papers

2026-08-14

The journal Perspectivas em Análise do Comportamento invites the scientific community to submit manuscripts for a special issue dedicated to Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP).

Developed in the 1980s by Kohlenberg and Tsai (1991), FAP emerged as a clinical approach grounded in the principles of behavior analysis, emphasizing the role of natural contingencies occurring within the therapeutic interaction, particularly in the here-and-now of the therapist–client relationship. Over the past decades, FAP has become an important approach within the clinical field and has been widely discussed and disseminated among behavior analysts, with significant conceptual, empirical, and applied advances (Kohlenberg et al., 2009; Tsai et al., 2009; Holman et al., 2017).

Within the contemporary landscape of contextual behavioral therapies, FAP occupies a distinctive position by systematically integrating fundamental behavior-analytic principles with complex clinical processes, such as the shaping of interpersonal repertoires in naturalistic contexts. A distinctive and widely recognized feature of FAP is its conceptualization of the therapist as an integral part of the social contingencies operating on the client’s behavior throughout the session. Accordingly, both the topography and the function of the therapist’s responses to the client play a central role in the mechanism of therapeutic change.

In this context, this Special Issue seeks to bring together contributions that revisit, deepen, and update the place of FAP within the broader field of contemporary behavioral interventions.

We invite researchers, faculty members, and practitioners to submit manuscripts in the following categories:

  • Systematic literature reviews;

  • Theoretical or conceptual analyses;

  • Case studies;

  • Experimental studies, when applicable.

Submission deadline: March 31, 2027.
Expected publication date of the Special Issue: August 2, 2027.

Submissions must strictly follow the journal’s guidelines (APA Style, 7th edition) and will undergo double-blind peer review.

We aim to bring together a body of work that represents the current state of scientific research on FAP and contributes to guiding its future conceptual, empirical, and applied developments within Behavior Analysis. This Special Issue is intended to serve as a reference for researchers, faculty members, and clinicians interested in FAP by assembling contributions that reflect the diversity, maturity, and potential for further development of this approach. We welcome your contribution to strengthening and expanding the discussion of FAP within the field of Behavior Analysis.

Suggested References

Busch, A. M., Kanter, J. W., Callaghan, G. M., Baruch, D. E., Weeks, C. E., & Berlin, K. S. (in press). A micro-process analysis of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy’s mechanism of change. Behavior Therapy.

Kanter, J. W., Manbeck, K. E., Kuczynski, A. M., Maitland, D. M., Villas-Bôas, A., & Ortega, M. A. R. (2017). A comprehensive review of research on Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology Review.

Knott, L. E., Wetterneck, C. T., Norwood, W., & Bistricky, S. L. (2019). The impact of training in functional analytic therapy on therapists’ target behavior. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 19(2), 164.

Kohlenberg, R. J., & Tsai, M. (1991). Functional analytic psychotherapy: Creating intense and curative therapeutic relationships. Plenum Press.

Kuczynski, A. M., Kanter, J. W., Wetterneck, C. T., Olaz, F. O., Singh, R. S., Lee, E. B., … & Manbeck, K. E. (2019). Measuring intimacy as a contextual behavioral process: Psychometric development and evaluation of the Awareness, Courage, and Responsiveness Scale. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Maitland, D. W., Kanter, J. W., Manbeck, K. E., & Kuczynski, A. M. (2017). Relationship science informed clinically relevant behaviors in Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: The Awareness, Courage, and Love Model. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(4), 347–359.

Oshiro, B., Kanter, J., & Meyer, S. (2012). A single-case experimental demonstration of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy with two clients with severe interpersonal problems. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 7(2–3), 111–117.

Tsai, M., Kohlenberg, R. J., Kanter, J. W., Kohlenberg, B. S., Follette, W. C., & Callaghan, G. M. (2009). A guide to functional analytic psychotherapy: Awareness, courage, love, and behaviorism. Springer.

Holman, G., Kanter, J. W., Tsai, M., Kohlenberg, R. J., & Hayes, S. C. (2017). Functional analytic psychotherapy made simple: A practical guide to therapeutic relationships. New Harbinger Publications.

Tsai, M., Yoo, D., Hardebeck, E. J., Loudon, M. P., & Kohlenberg, R. J. (2019). Creating safe, evocative, attuned, and mutually vulnerable therapeutic beginnings: Strategies from functional analytic psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 56(1), 55.

Vandenberghe, L. (2009). Keeping the focus on clinically relevant behavior: Supervision for Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. International Journal for Behavioral Consulting and Therapy, 5(2), 209–222.