A translational approach to the functional analysis of language in psychotherapy

The functional analysis of verbal behavior has been successful in establishing basic and advanced forms of language in individuals with developmental disabilities. The development of behavioral approaches to psychotherapy, such as the functional-analytic psychotherapy, have advanced the implementation of operant analyses of verbal behavior among typical adults. The field of behavior-analytic approaches to psychotherapy departs from the applied experimental research in behavior analysis in various ways: (a) minimal use of molecular analyses of behavioral processes using single-subject experimentation, (b) confined use of functional analysis and function-driven intervention, and (c) metaphoric use of mainstream behavioral concepts and methods. The breakthroughs brought about by behavioral approaches to psychotherapy may be supplemented by way of translating some of the findings of the applied experimental literature. The present analysis illustrates how behavioral processes demonstrated in the context of experimental research, often with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, may be relevant to psychotherapy with typically-developed adults. This translational approach is discussed with reference to basic language processes: echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbal dynamics. This approach could prompt programmatic translational research in the field of behavioral psychotherapies.