What do I find difficulty integrating? that is, what I can't make my own, what I am split from. Funny how we see so clearly what others annoy us with. We have to self-integrate because when we fail to own things, we project them onto others.
Jung said you can only take clients as far as you have gone yourself. The counsellor can't take clients through the steps if they are miles ahead and can't recall how they got there, so usually is good to be just a few steps ahead.
WHICH THERAPY?Many theoretical models of therapy exist, varying between religious or psychotherapy camps, where you are either in or out, ie you believe in one camp to the others exclusion.Each camp defines itself on a lot of differentiation instead of points of commonality .
Integrative says in order to establish my self as me, I have to be not you. So we need to differentiate ourselves from others first to create a clear position before we can integrate.
All therapies have merits, so rather than get stuck in any one we can borrow from all. In this field there are certainties, no therapy has proved better than the others, therefore don't create boundaries.
How do you make sense of how people change?Seems likely we can support a diversity of people with a diversity of approaches. The more open we are, the more open our possibilities are and we increase the arena we can work in. To do this we need a questioning mind and to be aware of limitations of each therapy. Be aware that even integrative, has his own camp.
INTEGRATIVE VERSUS ECLECTICISM
Eclecticism is an area tipped to growSEPI representative body for therapy at a UK standing conference on Humanistic and integrative approaches saw a need to recognise that there is value in all therapies and also limitations to each.Eg. Behavioural is good for phobias, whereas gestalt wouldn't be.
So integrative arrives into an arena where no one school has proved the best.
WHY INTEGRATIVE ?
1 DIVERSITYThrough all the theories and therapies, there is awareness of no such thing as an "unchanging truth". A healthy approach is to question "Is this the truth?". In an era where we have seen great cultural change as with racial incorporation into British society Likewise Integrative has developed in an era where there is a proliferation of single therapies, 450 at last count. We ask, Why are they so separate?, are they so dissimilar?, how do I choose?
Complexity of psychological problems.1 Eclectic/choice2 Integrative/choice4 Choice of common factors
The relationship factor is most important according to Petruscha. ie The Therapeutic relationship. Even behavioural therapy now acknowledge the need to identify the relationship has a role.
2 LANGUAGETherapists need many voices to hear and to speak. Every language can be either embrace or constrained by words. Words can limit our world, therefore a wider number of therapies� can help identify better where we are with a client. Language is a major difficulty when talking integratively since some words shut us down eg goals for Linda. Unless you have words for psychotic peoples problems, how do you identify them. Axiomatic = commonly agreed words.
In working alliance, from an agreement to spend 3 months dealing with a client on a depression problem, we may chose to change style� to psychodynamic when what emerges is a sex problem. Therapist may ask before going any further, specific direct questions and shift language to interrogative. The Therapy must tell the client what he is doing by changing language. Here the choice, pace and awareness level of language are important. Notice how some people eg Veronica, have hypnotic suggestive power.
INTEGRATIVE VERSUS ECLECTICISM Eclecticism means to borrow from many schools. Two types of Eclecticism, one where the therapist is consciously aware of choice of therapy they are using, the other mindless choice, used because they can't think of anything better. One is an intuitive, thought-through choice from a range of therapies. This is creative eclecticism, the alternative is to reach for one out of not knowing. Lindas case Example:For Linda, this is a typical Gestalt client. A young man, who works with transpersonal, wants to know the meaning of life, has here and now issues. He is an overbounder (forthright), self-supported, is body experienced, articulate. As therapist faced with choices of do you self-disclose?, you will have to hold boundary, do you chose to monitor?