Mavis Tsai is a psychologist and author. She is a senior research scientist at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. She is one of the creators of

functional analytic psychotherapy Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is a psychotherapeutic approach based on clinical behavior analysis (CBA) that focuses on the therapeutic relationship as a means to maximize client change. Specifically, FAP suggests that in-session conting ...

(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 The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. In 1982, she obtained her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington.

Career

Tsai began working as a senior research scientist at the University of Washington in 2014. In 2015, she co-founded Awareness, Courage and Love Global Project. Tsai became the director of UW Psychological Services and Training Center FAP Clinic in 2018. Tsai practices clinical psychology independently. Her areas of interests are social connections, personal development and healing. She believes in a multifaceted approach to growth and healing by integrating the emotions, mind, body and spirit. Tsai has implemented Eastern philosophy into psychotherapy.

Awareness, Courage and Love Global Project

It is a global, nonprofit organization that aims to address loneliness as a major health issue. Social isolation leads to a variety of psychological and health risks and the organization aims to alleviate it. The organization focuses on fostering authentic and meaningful connections. Tsai serves as its director.

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsai, Mavis American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Washington alumni University of Washington faculty Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics