Pluralistic therapy

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · Mick Cooper, John McLeod · 2007 · United Kingdom

What it is

Pluralistic therapy is a framework, not a single therapy with its own techniques. Its authors call it a meta-theory and a collaborative framework that lets a practitioner draw on concepts and methods from several orientations without reconciling them into one theory. Its account of change rests on…

Format

• Building collaboration and agreeing goals. Goals: build a collaborative relationship, hear the client's story, identify strengths and resources, and agree goals (recorded on a Goals Form). Format: an assessment meeting. In McLeod & McLeod's worked example this was one extended interview of about 90…
• Change activities. Goals: carry out the agreed methods. Throughout, use metatherapeutic dialogue, session-by-session feedback and formal reviews.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• In practice, client and therapist agree the client's goals, the tasks (intermediate steps) that will move towards them, and the methods (concrete activities) used to carry out each task. They keep checking the fit through metatherapeutic communication (talking about the therapy itself) and through structured feedback. Founders and status: Cooper (then at Strathclyde, later Roehampton) and McLeod (then at Abertay…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the therapist's reluctance to "lose" a client.
• adjusting so far that you lose your own congruence (see 5.7).
• offering only lenses you can actually work in (see principle 16).
• ceiling-level ratings that never vary. Ask what one thing could have been better.
• expert-sounding language that intimidates or confuses. Use the client's own words.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.