Systematic Eclectic Models

Abstract

Although increasingly popular, eclecticism has sometimes been characterized by its critics as "seat of the pants " therapy. This has led some authors to provide organizing principles for the eclectic field. These systematic eclectic models help counselors and therapists integrate interventions from various schools of psychotherapy. Four systematic eclectic models (Beutler 's eclectic psychotherapy; Howard, Nance, and Myers' adaptive counseling and therapy; Lazarus' multimodal therapy; and Prochaska and DiClemente's transtheoretical approach) are presented and evaluated on five dimensions. Additionally, the article examines support for the models, and makes conceptual and empirical recommendations.