Although the "new" philosophy of science, social constructionism, postmodernism, feminism, and multiculturalism represent relatively distinct intellectual trends, they converge on 1 theme: Human knowledge cannot be completely disentangled from sociocultural influences, and, therefore, multiple, conflicting viewpoints predominate. From this perspective, forms of eclecticism and integrationism have emerged as responses to the pluralism of the psychotherapy field. Yet, because of a bias toward systematization, these models largely act, paradoxically, to constrain pluralism. Moreover, existing models do not acknowledge that therapists also live in a pluralistic world, thereby imparting their belief and value systems to clients. Consequently, the central dilemma of psychotherapy can be formulated in R. J. Bernstein's (1992) terms as an enduring tension between affirmation and critique: the therapist's conviction, which grounds the therapeutic exchange, pitted against the therapist's uncertainty, which questions all assumptions. A dialectical approach is recommended as a means of clarifying, but not resolving, this dilemma.Because "pluralism" introduces a relativistic element into our conceptions of what is real, good, and true, there is no consensus in psychology or psychotherapy regarding its nature or value (
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