What Is Integrative Therapy and How Does It Work?
If you have been looking into therapy, you may have come across terms like CBT, psychodynamic, person-centred, and integrative – and wondered what the difference is. Integrative therapy is not a single method. It is an approach that draws on multiple therapeutic traditions, tailored to what each individual client needs.
Some therapists work within a single model – for example, a CBT therapist uses cognitive behavioural techniques, while a psychodynamic therapist focuses on unconscious processes and early experience. An integrative therapist draws on more than one tradition, selecting the approach that best fits the client and the issue at hand.
My integrative practice draws on person-centred therapy, psychodynamic theory, transactional analysis, attachment theory, and relational approaches. In practical terms, this means I might focus on your early relationships in one session and your present-day patterns in the next. I might work with how you relate to me in the room as a way of understanding how you relate to others in your life. I might explore the beliefs you carry about yourself and where they came from.
What I do not do is apply a fixed protocol or set homework between sessions. I do not use CBT, EMDR, somatic experiencing, or structured assessment tools. My approach is relational – it is rooted in the connection between us and in the belief that people heal in the context of safe, consistent relationships.
The advantage of an integrative approach is flexibility. People are complex. What you need from therapy in the first few sessions may be different from what you need six months in. An integrative framework allows me to adapt, rather than trying to fit your experience into a single model.
This does not mean the work is unstructured or vague. I am trained to MA level in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Roehampton, and my approach is grounded in clinical theory and supervised practice. What it means is that you are at the centre of the process, not the model.
Is integrative therapy evidence-based?
Yes. The therapeutic modalities that form part of an integrative approach – including person-centred, psychodynamic, and relational therapy – all have established evidence bases. Integrative therapy is recognised by BACP and is widely practised in the UK.
How is integrative therapy different from CBT?
CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns, often using structured techniques and homework. Integrative therapy takes a broader approach, drawing on multiple traditions and focusing on the therapeutic relationship itself as a vehicle for change. I do not use CBT techniques in my practice.
If you would like to understand more about how I work, or if you are unsure which type of therapy is right for you, a free introductory call is a good place to start.