Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

In this paper we present a case-study to demonstrate an application of concepts of knowledge representation from cognitive science and AI to problem solving in psychotherapeutic situations. In particular, a special type of frame, the so-called "Thematic Organization Point", or TOP, is used to characterize generic conflictive patterns of interaction, and to elucidate the meaning of a "psychotherapeutic interpretation". The concept of "failure-driven memory" is related to the process of evoking memories in patients. A belief systems analysis is used to explain why in some situations people are incapable of learning in spite of repetitive expectation failures. The underlying theory is summarized as a set of "Theorems". It is concluded that a cognitive science approach to therapeutic problem solving not only clarifies theoretical concepts but enables the derivation of powerful heuristics to be used by therapists in their practical work,