Therapists’ experiences of pluralistic practice

Abstract

This article presents the findings from a qualitative study conducted to understand the experience of therapists who described themselves as working pluralistically. Structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with seven participants, and data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Within the domain of personal experiences, participants described a feeling of congruence between their personal philosophy and pluralism, but struggled to define their role as therapist and felt there was a lack of research into the pluralistic approach. Within the professional domain, participants described their experience of working with clients: including collaboration, transparency and reconciling tensions.