Verbally Conditioning Client Behaviors in the Therapeutic Setting

Abstract

In this article we address the question of how a client’s behavior can be changed by the verbal interactions in the therapeutic setting. We suggest that when such change occurs, regardless of the theoretical orientation of the therapist, the client’s behavior has been verbally conditioned. In particular, any verbal stimulus in the therapy setting that produces such change alters the function of settings in which the problem behaviors or feelings normally occur to evoke different, that is, healthier, verbal and nonverbal behaviors or feelings. We point out that such verbal conditioning is ongoing and ubiquitous both in and out of the therapy setting, and that not only are clinically relevant improvements conditioned by a client’s self-talk, but so are the very problems the client experiences in the first place. Finally, we present several examples of how the client’s behaviors outside the therapy situation may be altered by the verbal interactions with a therapist. Keywords: