ABSTRACT
Session one of Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) marks the initial encounter between therapist and patient. The second and often third sessions review the developmental history with significant others and after the session ends, therapists construct one transference hypothesis. Three tasks are undertaken during session three. First the Patient's Manual is discussed and all the person's questions are answered. Second, individuals are told why they will likely find their CBASP treatment experience as well as the role of their psychotherapist to be qualitatively different when compared with past psychotherapy experiences. Particular attention is spent explaining the disciplined personal involvement role. The third task is to administer the first situational analysis (SA) slowly explaining the rationale for each step and the overall goals of the exercise. The implicit MSE phrase means that no specific MSE questions are asked; rather, information garnered from the person's behavior during session fill in the blanks of the MSE domains.
