Have you wondered how RFT can help you be a better ACT Therapist? In this article, we explore how the concept of pliance can guide you when helping a client to change.
What is Relational Frame Theory (RFT)?
Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is an account of how language behaves through the perspective of behavioural analysis. It describes some post-Skinnerian concepts and processes that explain how humans can think symbolically.
I believe it is beneficial for the ACT practitioner to spend time reading, discussing and reflecting on RFT. The more you understand it, the deeper and more precise you can go with your interventions.
Let me give you a quick example.
Can Rule-Governed Behaviour generalise?
Pliance is a form of rule-governed behaviour. It’s a word taken from “compliance”, describing how people follow the rules learned from instruction. For example, a child may put their plate in the dishwasher after dinner because they’ve been repeatedly told to do so by a parent.
Skinner’s work around operant responding (learning by consequences) could explain why this happens. For example, if the child has gotten into trouble before for leaving their plate on the table, they learn that putting it in the dishwasher does not lead to that outcome. The process of reinforcement/punishment can explain it.
Naturally, pliance can generalise to other situations. For example, putting your shoes away or tidying your room. The child can predict they’ll get into trouble if they leave their things lying around, even when they’ve not encountered a direct consequence.
This generalising action cannot be explained by operant responding because it is not directly learned. It can be explained by RFT, which tells us that language creates relations that form networks based on, among other ways, similarity. Therefore, you scientifically understand how this works, which can support your client’s work.
How to bring RFT into the therapy room
For example, imagine you’re working with a client who engages in perfectionistic patterns, which lead to exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed. They share a rule that says, “I must check my work for mistakes to ensure it’s right”.
On further investigation, you discover that this rule appears in many areas, including relationships and home life. For example, they seek to be the perfect partner and friend. And their home is always immaculate.
You also discover that this person learned long ago that “I can get into trouble when I make mistakes.” Their parents would often tell them off, leaving them ashamed. Subsequently, and repeatedly over the years, the client’s rule-following has been generalised to their work and other relationships.
When you invite them to be less perfect, they kick back, saying, “But people might be angry with me”. This opens up an opportunity to ask about their experiences at work, in relationships and at home. For example, you might ask, “Has anyone been angry with you recently because you weren’t perfect?”
When pliance generalises, your learning history governs your behaviour. Rather than recognising how people can respond differently, you treat people equally. Understanding the process of pliance allows you to help your client distinguish between what your mind predicts and what your experience has shown you.
If your client has never taken the risk of being less perfect in current contexts, then they do not know what will happen. Instead, their mind has predicted the events based on past experiences with other people.
Clients may not know what they want
People who are overly pliant tend to be disconnected from what they want. They have perhaps learned to be perfectionistic to minimise criticism while never having practised exploring, “What do I want?”. Hence, they are less in tune with their values.
Moreover, pliance prevents you from finding out what will happen. Tracking (another form of rule-governed behaviour) can often be more helpful. For example, you can seek to discover what will happen. In DNA-V terms, you put your advisor aside and engage with your discoverer.
for the acceptance & commitment therapy practitioner
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