Elevating your therapeutic impact with functional analytic psychotherapy
A journey into self-awareness and connection with FAP
Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is a transformative behavioural approach that uses the therapeutic relationship as a catalyst for profound change. This workshop will teach you how to spot and respond to subtle client struggles, foster healing through awareness, courage, and love, and reflect on your own journey to bring your most authentic self into the therapy room. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn from Dr Mavis Tsai, the co-founder of FAP, to gain an accessible yet powerful foundation in this life-changing approach.
Overview
Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) offers a powerful and transformative contextual behavioural approach to therapy by creating deep, meaningful, and healing therapeutic relationships. FAP helps therapists identify and respond to the subtle ways clients’ daily life struggles show up in the therapy room, using the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle for profound change.
At the heart of FAP are the principles of awareness, courage, and love—behaviourally defined concepts that guide therapists in nurturing authentic and compassionate relationships with clients. This approach not only supports clients in addressing their challenges but also requires therapists to engage in their own personal growth. As Dr. Mavis Tsai, the co-originator of FAP, explains, “you can only take your clients as far as you yourself have gone.”
This introductory-level workshop is designed for psychologists, therapists, ACT practitioners, and other professionals in therapeutic or relational roles. It will provide an accessible foundation in FAP principles, with a focus on how therapists can bring their best self into the therapy room by addressing their own avoidances and obstacles.
What you’ll learn
By the end of this 3-hour interactive workshop, you will:
- Discover the five rules of FAP and unlock their potential to create deeper, more meaningful therapeutic relationships.
- Spot and respond to those subtle, “in-session occurrences”—the moments where your client’s daily struggles come to life in the therapy room.
- Bring to life the principles of awareness, courage, and love in your therapeutic interactions, using them to foster growth and healing.
- Reflect on your own journey, identifying personal fears or barriers that might be holding you back, and explore how to overcome them to flourish as a therapist.
- Walk away with practical tools to start integrating FAP into your practice immediately, no matter your current therapeutic approach.
Who should attend?
This workshop is ideal for:
- Psychologists, therapists, counsellors, and ACT practitioners working in therapeutic or relational roles.
- Professionals interested in cultivating meaningful client relationships and exploring how their personal growth impacts their professional work.
Practitioners new to FAP who want to develop a foundational understanding of its principles and applications, or more advanced FAP practitioners who want to further cultivate their ability to harness the wellspring of therapeutic opportunity available within each unique relationship we create with our clients. Participants are expected to be experienced
By the end of this 3-hour interactive workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the five rules of FAP and explain their relevance to creating meaningful therapeutic relationships.
- Identify "in-session occurrences" by observing and recognising subtle client behaviours that reflect their daily life struggles.
- Demonstrate how to respond to "in-session occurrences" in a way that promotes healing and progress for clients.
- Apply the principles of awareness, courage, and love in therapeutic interactions to deepen client relationships.
- Evaluate and address personal avoidances, fears, or challenges, and articulate how overcoming these barriers can enhance professional effectiveness.
- Implement at least one FAP-informed tool or technique in their therapeutic practice, regardless of their existing orientation.
APA psychologists: This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for 3 CE credits for psychologists.
Nationally certified counselors: This workshop is available for 3 credit hours. Contextual Consulting Ltd. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7578.
To find out more, including attendance requirements and how to access your certificate, go to our continuing education information page.
If you have disability and require adjustments or accommodation, please email us at admin@contextualconsulting.co.uk to discuss your needs and we will do our best to help you.
Booking cancellation
The registration fee will be refunded minus a administration charge if cancellations are received at least two weeks before the workshop date.
Cancellations within two weeks of the event date are charged the full registration fee, other than in exceptional circumstances that can be verified.
Event cancellation
In the event of cancellation of the course outside of our control we will not be held accountable for travel and/or accommodation costs incurred. However, the workshop fees will be refunded.
All workshops will be subject to minimum delegate numbers being met; in the event that a workshop should be cancelled delegates will be given no less than 2 months’ notice.
Replacing delegates
If a delegate is unable to attend and a replacement is nominated there may be a charge depending on the individual circumstances, this will be advised at the time. Please contact the us to request a replacement of delegates at least a week before the workshop date.
Contextual Consulting is committed to the identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest in the planning, promotion, delivery, and evaluation of continuing education. Potential conflicts of interest occur when an individual assumes a professional role in the planning, promotion, delivery, or evaluation of continuing education where personal, professional, legal, financial, or other interests could reasonably be expected to impair their objectivity, competence, or effectiveness.
There was no commercial support for this event. None of the planners or presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Muñoz-Martínez, A., Skinta, M. D., Sullivan-Singh, S., Kohlenberg, B., & Tsai, M. (2025). Functional analytic psychotherapy: Distinctive features (2nd ed.). Routledge.
https://www.routledge.com/Functional-Analytic-Psychotherapy-Distinctive-Features/Munoz-Martinez-Skinta-Sullivan-Singh-Kohlenberg-Tsai/p/book/9781032687179