Provocative Therapy is named from the Latin provocare, meaning to “call forth from,” and is effective in its ability to call forth new and useful behaviors from clients who have previously exhibited negative behaviors and beliefs. Provocative Therapy works with clients within their biopsychosocial world to assist them to develop more effective behaviors and strategies. Originally developed in 1963 by Frank Farrelly while working with chronic schizophrenics, the techniques used in Provocative Therapy, such as sensory-rich language, are applicable to the full range of client issues, groups, and family work.

Historical Context

Trained as a master’s level social worker in 1956, Farrelly worked with the psychologist Carl Rogers for many years at Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin, and was a therapist on Rogers’s research project ...

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