"The Pluralistic Approach starts from the assumption that different things are likely to help different people at different points in time, such that it is meaningless to argue over which is the ‘best’ way of practising therapy, per se.
It can be summed up as a ‘both/and’ standpoint – that C.B.T. can be helpful, and person-centered therapy can be helpful, and psychodynamic therapy can be helpful – in contrast to an ‘either / or’ one.
As a corollary of this, the pluralistic approach also assumes that it is not just therapists who should decide on the focus and course of therapy – rather, therapists should work closely with their clients to decide on how the work should proceed. The two basic principles underlying this approach can be summarised as follows:
(1) Lots of different things can be helpful to clients;
(2) If we want to know what is most likely to help clients, we should talk to them about it."
Mick Cooper & John McLeod - 2010 Pluralism: towards a new paradigm for therapy
It can be summed up as a ‘both/and’ standpoint – that C.B.T. can be helpful, and person-centered therapy can be helpful, and psychodynamic therapy can be helpful – in contrast to an ‘either / or’ one.
As a corollary of this, the pluralistic approach also assumes that it is not just therapists who should decide on the focus and course of therapy – rather, therapists should work closely with their clients to decide on how the work should proceed. The two basic principles underlying this approach can be summarised as follows:
(1) Lots of different things can be helpful to clients;
(2) If we want to know what is most likely to help clients, we should talk to them about it."
Mick Cooper & John McLeod - 2010 Pluralism: towards a new paradigm for therapy
