Research on psychotherapy integration: Building on the past, looking to the future

Abstract

Integration has become an important and influential movement within psychotherapy practice, reflected by the fact that many treatment providers now identify as integrative. However, integration has not had as great an influence on psychotherapy research. The goal of this paper is to highlight the growing body of research on psychotherapy integration, and to identify future directions for research that may strengthen the integration movement as well as the field of psychotherapy as a whole. We first summarize the past 25 years of research on integration, with a focus on four approaches to integration: theoretical integration, technical eclectic, common factors, and assimilative integration. Next, we identify directions of research within these four areas that could strengthen and support integrative practice. We then propose ways in which the perspective of integrationists could contribute to psychotherapy research in the critical areas of harmful effects, therapist effects, practice-oriented research, and training. We end this paper by suggesting that a greater collaboration between integrationists and psychotherapy researchers will help to create a unified landscape of knowledge and action that will benefit all participants and advance the field.

Integrative Systemic Therapy: Lessons on Collaboration and Training for the 21st Century

“…Despite mounting evidence of the limitations of specific treatment models (Castonguay et al, 2015) and the reality that most therapists attempt to integrate best practices from different approaches (Orlinsky et al, 2005); in our view, most CMFT training programs do not adequately teach students how to integrate knowledge and methods effectively nor deal with the underlying tensions between models. Instead, it seems that students are usually encouraged to choose a model to work from or at least try different ones until they find one that "fits" for them (often compared to a process of "dating"; see Gehart, 2018).…”

“…Although much of this remains, the current trend is once again moving toward a shared identity (Wampler, Blow, McWey, Miller, & Wampler, 2017) that can unite the field and a synthesis of concepts and strategies that can cut across viewpoints (Lebow, 2014). This trend is being influenced by several factors: (a) the profession's need to establish an identity that can be communicated to third parties and stakeholders (consider the recent victory in the ongoing Texas dispute regarding licensed MFT's ability to diagnose), (b) mounting evidence of the limitations of singular treatment models in psychotherapy research (e.g., Castonguay, Eubanks, Goldfried, Muran, & Lutz, 2015), (c) the induction of common factors into CMFT (Sprenkle, Davis, & Lebow, 2009), and (d) the reality that most therapists are pragmatists who, out of a simple desire to make a difference, integrate best practices from different approaches (Orlinsky et al, 2005).…”

What Is Individually Tailored Mental Health Care?

“…Esta área también ha sido objeto de intervenciones en el campo de la terapia centrada en la emoción (por ej., Greenberg, 2004). Los manuales de tratamiento de trastornos específicos pueden estar limitados en su potencial para adaptarse a las necesidades individuales de los pacientes, especialmente con respecto a la comorbilidad y la regulación emocional (por ej., Castonguay et al, 2015). La decisión de incluir este dominio se basó en los hallazgos de White y colegas (2015), que sugirieron que los cuatro dominios originales podrían incluir algunos de los obstáculos, pero no todos, para un resultado positivo del tratamiento.…”

Evidence based psychotherapie: Stromingenstrijd stagneert wetenschappelijke vooruitgang

“…Daarom, eerder dan op zoek te gaan naar bewijzen voor ons eigen gelijk, zouden we ons beter richten op het integreren van kennis, inzichten en vaardigheden uit verschillende tradities. 12 Als we onze cliënten echt willen helpen, moeten we onze traditie-ego's overstij-gen en hen die processen en technieken aanbieden die ervoor zorgen dat hun symptomen verminderen. Het gaat er niet om wie er gelijk heeft, het gaat er om wat ons gelijk geeft.…”