Abstract
This manuscript is part of a special issue to commemorate professor Paul Eelen, who passed away on August 21, 2016. Paul was a clinically oriented scientist, for whom learning principles (Pavlovian or operant) were more than salivary responses and lever presses. His expertise in learning psychology and his enthusiasm to translate this knowledge to clinical practice inspired many inside and outside academia. Several of his original writings were in the Dutch language. Instead of editing a special issue with contributions of colleagues and friends, we decided to translate a selection of his manuscripts to English to allow wide access to his original insights and opinions. Even though the manuscripts were written more than two decades ago, their content is surprisingly contemporary. This manuscript was originally published in 1989 as part of an edited book on the therapeutic relation. In this chapter, Paul Eelen takes a critical position against the dominance of the client-centered approach. He presents the therapeutic relation as a behavioural interaction between the patient and his therapist which is subject to laws of learning. This is exemplified by an in-depth analysis of the therapist as a conditioned stimulus.First published as: Eelen, P., Depreeuw, E., & Van den Bergh, O. (1989). De therapeut als geconditioneerde stimulus. In H. Vertommen, G. Cluckers, & G. Lietaer (Eds.), De relatie in therapie (pp. 147–165). Leuven: Universitaire Pers Leuven.1
Highlights
These are times of therapeutic ecumenism, it is appropriate to reflect, from time to time, on what distinguishes existing therapeutic methods
The second paragraph discusses how the T-C relationship can be situated in a conceptual framework from a behaviour therapy perspective
The genuine, unconditional and emphatic therapist Naturally, the critical observations contained in this paragraph might be focused on a “straw man” rather than on what really happens in client-centered therapy
Summary
These are times of therapeutic ecumenism, it is appropriate to reflect, from time to time, on what distinguishes existing therapeutic methods. To label the therapist a conditioned stimulus at first glance appears to be fairly at odds with the conceptual framework in which the T-C relationship is described from a client-centered therapy perspective. The first paragraph explains why behaviour therapists remain slightly hesitant to accept the basic philosophy underlying client-centered therapy.
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