Pluralism in Psychotherapy

Tuesday, 9th June 2020

Presented by Mick Cooper

Synopsis:Pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy is based on two key principles. First, that there is no ‘best’ way of doing therapy: different clients need different things at different times. Second, that if therapists want to find out the best way of helping clients, they should talk to them about it. This doesn’t mean that clients will always know what they want, or that what clients want is what they need; but that any views that clients have on how best to do therapy should be actively elicited, respected, and engaged with. Pluralism in counselling and psychotherapy can be both an attitude towards therapy and a specific practice. The pluralistic attitude is a general respect for different approaches, and a willingness to help clients find the right therapy for them. That means that therapists who practice ‘pure form’ therapies—like person-centred counselling or CBT—can still consider themselves pluralistic. Pluralistic practice is a form of therapy in which the practitioner draws on a range of methods and understandings to try and tailor the therapy to the individual client—based on what they and the client think may be most helpful. This talk will introduce the pluralistic approach, and key practices including shared decision making with clients. There will then be time to discuss the approach and its limitations as well as its strengths.

Biography:Mick Cooper is Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton, where he is Director of the Centre for Research in Social and psychological Transformation (CREST). Mick is a chartered psychologist, a UKCP-registered existential psychotherapist, and a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Mick is author and editor of a range of texts on person-centred, existential, and relational approaches to therapy; including Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy (2nd ed., Sage, 2018, with Dave Mearns), Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy (Sage, 2011, with John McLeod), and Existential Therapies (2nd ed., Sage, 2017). Mick has led a series of research studies—both qualitative and quantitative—exploring the processes and outcomes of humanistic counselling with young people, and has published in a range of leading international psychotherapy journals. Mick’s latest book is Integrating Counselling and Psychotherapy: Directionality, Synergy, and Social Change (Sage, 2019). Mick is the father of four children and lives in Brighton on the south coast of England.