Essay On Integrative Therapy And Eclecticism

Whilst it is ethical to use the methods and techniques of more than one therapy with a client, it is also important that the counsellor has an understanding of any therapeutic model they use. There are two forms of mixing therapies; integrative and eclectic. Integrative therapists are trained in two or more therapeutic models on the same course and use different skills to single-model skills. The model has its own distinct structure and expected outcomes from the counselling are usually clearly stated.
Eclecticism is where a therapist is trained in a single model of counselling and sometimes ‘dips in and out’ of using another technique e.g. a person-centred counsellor using elements of CBT. There is no structure to eclecticism and it is based on the theory that no single approach works better than all of the others for a specific problem.
There are dangers of using therapies without the appropriate training, not least of which that techniques from …show more content…
This would make the relationship incongruent if person-centred for example, a core element of the approach.
In any counselling relationship the safety of the client should be paramount and by using a technique that you are not fully trained in there is a risk of leaving the client vulnerable e.g. if attempting to use flooding as a form of therapy (exposing the client/patient to their most extreme phobias), such as locking a claustrophobic in a small space for four hours.
In general, therapies, whether pure or integrative, are considered as whole in themselves. When a counsellor believes that they need to use techniques from another approach they should question why their own therapy is not adequate. This should also be raised in