Recent controversy in the treatment of communication apprehension and avoidance has centered around whether an individual's communicative difficulties are caused by communicative (skills) deficiency or psychological problems (anxiety). Such debates are not new; arguments about whether to treat communicative difficulties from a communicative or psychological perspective date back to the founding of speech communication as an academic discipline. Although there are effective treatments for dealing with communication apprehension and avoidance, a treatment is needed that is devoid of labels based on (1) the individual perception of the unwilling communicator and his or her problem, and (2) the perception of this problem by a trained observer. People's self-reports may focus on feelings, but still be informative. In addition, observation needs to be employed. If progress in treating communication apprehension and avoidance is to be made, methods of treatment must not rely on labels based on historical assumptions, and individual analysis of communicative problems needs to be used. (HOD)