ABSTRACT
Situational analysis (SA) is not an easy technique for either patients or practitioners to learn to administer. There are many twists and turns confronting clinicians as they proceed through the steps so that if they're not careful, the wheels come off SA and confusion reigns. A major temptation is not walking at the pace of the patient but instead hurrying through the exercise before the patient understands the consequences of their behavior. A second temptation is doing the SA work for the individual. Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) has found that whatever is done for patients, patients don't learn to do for themselves. To insure that self-restraint is practiced during SA, trainees learn to avoid two interpersonal circle octant behaviors. Avoiding the pulls for Dominance (D) and Hostility (H) on the part of clinicians is critical because the patient's hostile-submission (H-S) and submission (S) impacts make therapist D and H behavior highly tempting.
