Provocative therapy is an unusual therapeutic tool, that brings about changes to behaviour by changing a clients viewpoint about their own behaviour. This change is assisted by humorous parody of a clients situation and behaviour. Provocative therapy can be misunderstood as malicious attacking, and actually will be this unless complete trust and communicative rapport has been previously engendered. The major attribute of Provocative therapy is its ability to address difficult issues directly and begin the healing changes with the full consent and co-operation of the client because they can see and understand their own involvement in the cycle of suffering, which they no longer wish to be a part of. Provocative therapy was first used by Frank Farrelly, an ex-Catholic priest who found that the reflective model of the Carl Rogers school of thought did not work for him. Farrelly was later modelled by the founders of NLP, and thus is a profound adjunct to NLP techniques.
Provocative therapy, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, is one of the briefest methods for therapeutic change for long running repeated patterns. Coupled with hypnotic language and precise NLP change patterns, Provocative therapy is a rapid and consistent long term change medium for individuals, couples and relationships.
All of these therapeutic techniques are result directed. Successful therapeutic change is measured behaviourally, in practice, in the environment that the person lives in. Thus, sometimes for full recovery interventions are necessary within the whole family dynamics.