Revisiting the Core CBASP Motivational Technique: Situational Analysis (SA)

Abstract Introduction This paper describes the evolutionary history of the core motivational technique, Situational Analysis (SA), in the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP). SA, a motivational and learning exercise, is administered in approximately 75% of the CBASP sessions. Method In this historical review paper, we trace the evolutionary development of Situational Analysis from its early inception in the late 1970s until SA achieved its final form with the inclusion of a cognitive dissonance component during the mid-1980s. Results The SA technique teaches patients that they produce the interpersonal problems (and emotional discomfort) they report and facilitates the identification of these interpersonal behavioral consequences; secondly, SA remediates maladaptive behavior, freeing patients to succeed interpersonally where they previously had known only failure. Conclusion The final SA format has been successfully administered in two national trials with Persistent Depression Disorder Patients and in countless individual administrations in Asia, the United States, Europe and in the Scandinavian countries.