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Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 19 (2012) 198-199
Book Review
Törneke, N. (2010)
Learning RFT: An Introduction to Relational Frame
Theory and Its Clinical Application
Oakland: New Harbinger
Reviewed by Iftah Yovel,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
M OST people who have heard about relational frame
theory (RFT) probably associate it with its most
comprehensive and well-known clinical application:
acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes,
Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). In the past several decades a
staggering number of different types of cognitive and
behavioral therapies have been developed, designed to
provide treatment for an ever-growing range of relatively
specific types of difficulties. ACT is different in this
regard. The uniqueness of ACT stems not from any
specific type of intervention, but rather from the broad
theoretical framework on which it is based. Niklas
Törneke's (2010)Learning RFT, which presents the build-
ing blocks of this theoretical foundation, is therefore an
essential reading for researchers and clinicians who are
interested in what ACT and other contextual clinical
approaches have to offer.
Importantly, however, Learning RFT is not a book about
ACT. Basic elements of ACT take a central role in the last
section of the book that focuses on clinical applications of
RFT, but its scope goes beyond any specific clinical
approach. Törneke (2010) sought to “describe clinical
behavior analysis as one integrated therapy model, based
on the principles of behavioral psychology and with a
particular focus on the contribution offered by RFT. This
is not done from a position of arguing with any of the
individual models or with the more common ways of
describing them” (p. 169). RFT, which uses basic learning
principles to describe the processes by which language
Keywords: relational frame theory; acceptance and commitment
therapy; book review
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© 2011 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
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dominates human behavior, is a pragmatic theory. As
such, it is strictly devoted to an understanding that would
lead to a better prediction and influence of behavior. This
is consistent with the objectives of all clinicians and
clinical scientists, regardless of the approach they adhere
to.
Perhaps somewhat ironically, the first book on RFT
that does not seem as if it is written in a strange and
foreign language is actually translated from Swedish. Here
is another paradox: This excellent primer presents a
complex learning theory and occasionally reviews basic
up-to-date experimental work, yet it has been written by
someone who is not an experimentalist himself, “primar-
ily for others in the same situation” (p. 5), says Törneke.
Learning RFT is not the first published account of this
theory and its implications. Comprehensive, innovative,
and highly stimulating writings on RFT have been
available for at least a decade (e.g., Hayes, Barnes-
Holmes, & Roche, 2001). Unfortunately, however, these
texts are heavily jargoned, and they require a great deal of
sophistication with many experimental and behavioral
concepts, something that most people who could poten-
tially benefit from RFT may not posses. Practically
speaking, for many the basics of RFT have not really
been available, and at best could have only been vaguely
inferred from the writings on RFT's clinical applications.
Thus, Törneke's (2010) central objective was to create a
“user-friendly” account of this complex theory. Learning
RFT does just that, providing clinicians and researchers
with an excellent opportunity to familiarize themselves
with a comprehensive and thought-provoking theory that
is highly relevant to their work.
The book is divided into three sections. Part I provides
a general background that is necessary for understanding
the following sections. Chapter 1 explains the basic
principles of learning theory from the perspective of
radical behaviorism. The reader is first introduced to the
concept of functional contextualism. This term emphasizes
the two basic premises of RFT: It is only possible to
understand behavior in relation to the context or setting
in which it occurs, and in order to thoroughly understand
and influence any type of behavior, we must first clarify its
function or goal. In Chapter 2 Törneke (2010) first tackles
language and thinking, the phenomena that has tradi-
tionally been the thorniest issue for radical behaviorism.
He describes how Skinnerian behavioral analysis has
attempted to study human verbal behavior, as well as the
shortcomings and inadequacies of these attempts. In-
deed, many believe that radical behaviorism was

destroyed partly by its inability to help much with
understanding language, and Chomsky's famous attack
along those lines was one of the major victories of the
“cognitive revolution” (Richelle, 1993). Before turning to
the main section of the book, Törneke explains in
Chapter 3 why it is clinically important to functionally
examine the power of thinking, and how a better
understanding of the fundamentals of verbal behavior
may enable the development of improved therapeutic
models. The clear examples and powerful arguments
Törneke uses help convince the reader that “… to
understand, predict and influence human behavior, we
need a theory of human language based on experimental
research. RFT is such a theory” (p. 56). This last assertion
creates much anticipation for what's to come, and in the
following chapters Törneke works hard to deliver.
In Part II, the core section of the book, RFT is presented.
Chapter 4 lays down the foundations and basic terminology
of the theory, and describes how it addresses key questions
regarding the nature of human verbal behavior—the same
questions that Skinnerian behavioral analysis failed to
answer. Here is where this book's primary goal, to offer a
clear and palatable presentation of RFT, is most clearly
evident, as Törneke (2010) demonstrates how fundamental
verbal processes (e.g., the acquisition of language) can be
understood using relatively simple relations among differ-
ent types of stimuli, combined with basic learning
principles. Chapter 5 goes on to explain how RFT explains
more complex verbal phenomena such as analogies and
metaphors. This is also where RFT tools are used to describe
the various conceptualizations of the self, an analysis which
is highly relevant to the clinical implications of the theory
discussed in the last section of the book. Chapter 6 focuses
on the central functional analytic concept of rule-governed
behavior, describing how RFT addresses the ways in which
language affects all types of human activity. Part II
concludes with a chapter titled “The Dark Side of Human
Languaging” that leads to the final part of the book, which is
dedicated to clinical issues. Building on the fundamentals
of the theory discussed in the preceding chapters, Törneke
describes the “side effects” of human language that lead to
much pain and suffering, emphasizing the central role that
experiential avoidance takes in many different types of human
difficulties.
In Part III of Learning RFT, which focuses on the
clinical implications of the theory, readers will learn how
their newly acquired understanding of human verbal
behavior and its problems can be used in therapy. This is
where Törneke (2010) skillfully delineates the direct
connections between the intricacies of a broad and
199
complex theory and actual clinical difficulties, obstacles,
and dilemmas. The section commences with a behavioral
analytic perspective on psychotherapy in general and on
other broad therapeutic approaches (e.g., psychodynam-
ic therapy). However, it primarily focuses on clinical
behavioral analysis, with particular emphasis on thera-
peutic strategies relatively specific to clinical applications
of RFT. Readers who are already familiar with such
therapies will be able to deepen their understanding of
central therapeutic strategies such as the acceptance of
unwanted internal experiences or cognitive defusion.
Even treatment elements that seem relatively self-explan-
atory—for example, the motivational role of focusing on
valued living in ACT—gain a whole new perspective when
their elaborated connections to basic verbal processes are
elucidated. It is unfortunate, however, that this section is
too brief. For example, while the clinical vignettes that are
used to demonstrate some of the interventions are very
useful, illustrating the clinical applications of such a
comprehensive theory requires a broader range of clinical
examples.
Undoubtedly, Törneke (2010) has met his primary goal
to create an RFT primer “for the rest of us,” who are not
closely familiar with the works of experimental behavioral
analysis. His book, which is written in plain language and
with minimal use of jargon, makes RFT accessible to a much
wider audience. This achievement owes much to Törneke's
lively and engaging style of writing, which conveys even the
most complex technical concepts in a highly accessible way
and makes this book a pleasure to read. I believe that many
clinicians and clinical scientists will benefit greatly from the
stimulating and rewarding experience of reading Learning
RFT. I know I did.
References
Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (Eds.). (2001). Relational
frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and
cognition New York: Plenum Press.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and
commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New
York: Guilford Press.
Richelle, M. (1993). B. F. Skinner: A reappraisal. Hillsdale: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Törneke, N. (2010). Learning RFT: An introduction to relational frame
theory and its clinical application. Oakland: New Harbinger.
Address correspondence to Iftah Yovel, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus,
Jerusalem 91905 Israel; e-mail: yoveli@mscc.huji.ac.il.
Received: March 27 2011
Accepted: May 31 2011
Available online 19 August 2011