Abstract

BARRACA MAIRAL, Jorge. Clinical Skills in the Third-Wave of Behavioral Therapy. Clínica y Salud [online]. 2009, vol.20, n.2, pp.109-117. ISSN 2174-0550.

In this paper, the techniques of three of the third-wave of behavioral therapy are reviewed -Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Functional Analytical Psychotherapy and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy). We reflect on the type of skills that the therapist must develop in order to guarantee a competent performance when practicing. A distinction is made between: (1) listening and answer discrimination skills; (2) fluidity, variety and verbal competence skills; (3) motor skills; (4) imagination-creativity skills; (5) empathy skills; and (6) other skills -e.g., working in groups of therapist, meditation, mindfulness, etc. An analysis of these skills let us conclude that the new developments start from cognitive-behavioral therapy traditional skills but are reframed and elaborated in new ways. On the other hand, we found that the skills more commonly trained during the degree, as well as those that can be obtained from reading the texts in which these therapies are explained, are scarce for an effective work within these new models. Finally, we propose the improvement of practical training through workshops, audio-visual resources and case supervision.

Keywords : therapeutic skills; third-wave behavior therapy; dialectical behavior therapy; functional analytic psychotherapy; acceptance and commitment therapy.

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