Syncretism, eclecticism and integration in psychotherapy

Abstract

Because of the progressive rapprochement of different therapeutic models in the clinical practice and the equivalent outcomes in the studies about therapeutic effectiveness, eclecticism is more and more accepted from both the theoretical and professional points of view. Nevertheless, the concept of eclecticism is not precisely defined and therefore used in a confusing way. This article elaborates a conceptual categorization, distinguishing concepts as sincretism, eclecticism and integrationism, analyzes diferent alternatives to eclecticism and finishes proposing an integrative model of psychotherapy from a metatheo-retical perspective.