ABSTRACT
An Acceptance & Commitment Therapy practitioner and their client will continuously influence antecedents and consequences in ways that will bring about change in the other’s behaviour. The chain of antecedents, behaviours, and consequences (ABC) summarised by ABC analyses is often applied to discrete behaviours, such as avoidance, in reality these chains of events unfold all of the time. The practitioner might feel moved by the response and express gratitude for the client’s willingness to demonstrate honesty and vulnerability. A mindful and attentive practitioner will always be alive to this process within a therapeutic interaction and this kind of dynamic in-session ABC analysis can be a very useful tool in guiding intervention. The practitioner can utilise skills in functional analysis to monitor the response of the client and gauge how their interventions land. This helps to ensure that saying or doing things intended to be reinforcing do actually have the function of being reinforcing.
