A Guide to Integrative Counselling
We offer an integrative approach to psychotherapy with different styles of counselling so that therapy can suit each client’s specific needs at any given time.
What works for one person in therapy may not be the best approach for someone else. The Integrative model of counselling allows therapy to be flexible and adaptable in line with each client’s personal needs and expectations.
Integrative psychotherapy combines several different counselling styles and techniques.
We are trained as integrative therapists and offer different counselling and psychological theories and draws upon these different approaches to help each client in a way that best suits that person’s needs. The integrative approach assumes that each person is uniquely different and that no single approach to therapy can address the physical, social, emotional and psychological needs of all people. Life experiences are different for everyone and the integrative approach acknowledges these differences.
Depending upon the needs of the individual client, an integrative therapist may use person-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy or solution focussed techniques in working with a client. Rather than using one counselling approach throughout a client’s therapy experience, an integrative therapist will use different approaches as needed. Integrative therapy is flexible and adaptable while the client and therapist work together as therapy unfolds and evolves.
Integrative psychotherapy is a modern, collaborative approach to therapy. The approach is more inclusive than many other types of therapy as the client and therapist work together. Integrative therapists actively engage in the client’s experience of therapy. With integrative psychotherapy, therapy is tailored to the client rather than the client being tailored to fit one specific type of therapy.
What are the benefits of Integrative psychotherapy?
Some people believe the flexible and adaptable nature of integrative psychotherapy is a significant benefit. As therapy progresses, an integrative therapist might recognise opportunities to employ a different therapeutic approach or technique to help the client further along. Rather than sticking to just one approach, the integrative therapist will have a set of different approaches to use that may work better for a client than using just one single approach.
Another goal of integrative psychotherapy is to integrate the many different aspects of each individual. Through increasing self-awareness, integrative psychotherapy attempts to bring together the psychological, emotional, physical, social and physical parts of each client, so that these parts work together to best complete a whole, fully-integrated person.
Integrative psychotherapy can be effective for both short or longer-term therapy experiences. This type of therapy has been shown to be useful for many personal issues including bereavement, relationship issues, depression, anxiety, sexual issues, self-harm and with eating disorders. The integrative approach is a broad approach to therapy that involves a close working collaboration between the client and the therapist.
The client has control in how integrative therapy takes shape.
While some clients have a clear preference for the type of therapy they want to receive, most clients want whichever type of counselling that will be the most effective for their personal needs. Because the integrative approach is flexible and collaborative, the client has some control over the type of therapy used during their counselling experience. The style and type of therapy may change during the course of therapy, using the most effective approach for the client at any given time. For example, a client might request exercises or homework during the course of their therapy. In this case, a Cognitive Behavioural approach to therapy might be helpful. At other times, a client may want to talk about experiences from the past that might be affecting thoughts and behaviours today and, in this case, a psychodynamic approach may be more useful.
Integrative therapy can be used in the treatment of almost all types of personal issues and for clients of all ages. The integrative therapist will consider the individual characteristics, personality, needs, ability and motivations of each client to determine which type of therapy might be most helpful at any given time.
Essentially, Integrative psychotherapy is designed to tailor therapy to the client rather than tailoring the client to a particular type of therapy. This approach works on the basis that one approach to counselling does not fit everyone.
For more detail on different types of therapy, visit the BACP A-Z of therapeutic approaches.
