Mavis Tsai

Mavis Tsai is a psychologist and author. She is a senior research scientist at the University of Washington. She is one of the creators of functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP). Tsai is the director specializing in FAP at the University of Washington's Psychological Services and Training Center. Her books have been translated to Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Persian.

Education Tsai earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the UCLA. In 1982, she obtained her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington.

Research Tsai has co-authored over 60 publications concerning trauma, relationships, behavior and therapy.

Functional analytic psychotherapy

Tsai and Robert Kohlenberg first conceptualized functional analytic therapy after noticing the influence of relationships in patient outcomes. It has been refined throughout the years.

Selected works Books Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships (1991) with Robert Kohlenberg A Guide to Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Awareness, Courage, Love, and Behaviorism (2009), with Robert Kohlenberg, Jonathan Kanter, Barbara Kohlenberg, William C. Folette and Glenn M. Calaghan The Practice of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (2010), with Jonathan Kanter and Robert Kohlenberg Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Distinctive Features (2012), with Robert Kohlenberg, Jonathan Kanter, Gareth Holman and Mary Plummer Loudon Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Therapeutic Relationships (2017), with Gareth Holman, Jonathan Kanter and Robert Kohlenberg.