APA Dictionary of Psychology

an interpersonal approach to therapy based on the theoretical framework of radical behaviorism. Initially, the therapist generates a number of hypotheses about groups, or classes, of a client’s clinically relevant behavior (CRB). Such behaviors are (a) problem behaviors in a session that are like those the client engages in outside of therapy (CRB1s); (b) improvements in the client’s behavior that occur in session (CRB2s); and (c) client descriptions of what variables affect their behavior, leading to those problems or improvements (CRB3s). It is the therapist’s task to look for occurrences of CRBs, to assess the impact that CRB1s have on the therapist, and to reinforce alternative ways of interacting (CRB2s) that have a more positive impact and help meet the client’s goals of improved interpersonal relationships. [developed in the 1980s by U.S. clinical psychologists Robert J. Kohlenberg (1937–  ) and Mavis Tsai]