Integrative Therapy
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Behavioral science research is a large, multifaceted field, encompassing a wide array of disciplines. The field makes use of a variety of mechanical approaches including: surveys and questionnaires, interviews, randomized clinical trials, direct observation, and field experiments. In spite of the techniques used in the research related to behavioral science, it is not restricted to a set of disciplines or mechanical approaches. Instead, the field is defined by substantive areas of research that go beyond disciplinary and practical boundaries. In addition, several key cross-cutting themes characterize behavioral sciences research. These include: an emphasis on theory-driven research; the search for general principles of behavioral and social functioning; the importance ascribed to developmental, lifespan perspective; an emphasis on individual distinction, and distinction across socio-demographic categories such as gender, age, and socio-cultural status; and a focus on both the social and biological contexts of behavior.
With the information that is gained from research one can select a therapeutic approach that would seem to be most helpful. While all therapeutic systems have some common goals, they each have differences in the route that is used to achieve them. Some therapies insist on direct and active part of the counselor, while others place value on the client being the one who is active. Some therapies place their attention on what the client is feeling, while others focus on identifying cognitive patterns. Still some prefer to concentrate on the actual behavior of the client (Corey, 2013). I have come to believe that integrating certain features of each of these approaches will allow me to work with clients on all levels of human experience. The is referred to as Integrative Therapy, and it is a term which is used to refer the use of several different therapeutic techniques to address a client's psychological issues. Counselors who offer to use integrative therapy have a broad field of knowledge to draw upon, which usually requires extensive training.
The key idea behind integrative therapy is that each individual person is unique and distinctive, which means that a one size fits all approach to therapy will not be effective, whether the therapy is intended to help someone recover physically from a car accident, or emotionally from a traumatic event. Practitioners who utilize integrative therapy can develop a program which has been designed specifically for the patient's unique needs, addressing peculiarities of the patient's personality and situation rather than providing generic treatment which may be less effective. By combining the best of different orientations, you arrive at a more complete theoretical model that that results in a more effective treatment. Several routes have been developed to arrive at this integrative perspective. Among those I favor are; technical eclecticism, theoretical integration, and assimilative integration.
Technical eclecticism Technical eclecticism is designed to improve our ability to select the best treatment for the person and the problem. This decision is based primarily on data on what has worked best for others in the past. The advantage of technical eclecticism is that it encourages the use of diverse strategies without being hindered by theoretical differences. A disadvantage is that there may not be a clear conceptual framework describing how techniques drawn from divergent theories might fit together (Norcross, 2005).
Theoretical integration Theoretical integration is that in which two or more therapies are integrated in the hope that the result will be better than the constituent therapies alone. Some models of theoretical integration focus on combining and synthesizing a small number of theories at a deep level, whereas others describe the relationship between several systems of psychotherapy (Norcross, 2005).
Assimilative integration This mode of integration favors a firm grounding in any one system of psychotherapy, but with a willingness to incorporate or assimilate, in a considered fashion, perspectives or practices from other schools. Assimilative integration is the fourth route and acknowledges that most psychotherapists select a theoretical orientation that serves as their foundation but, with experience, incorporate ideas and strategies from other sources into their practice. Increasingly, integrationists are acknowledging that most counselors will prefer the security of one foundational theory as they begin the process of integrative exploration (Messer, 1992). Regardless of one’s theoretical approach there are a set of skills that every counselor must have to in order to be effective. In his person centered therapy, Carl Rogers identified the following as necessary and sufficient for therapeutic change: Empathy, Positive regard, and Genuineness (Rogers, 1957).
Empathy has been described as seeing the world through another's eyes, hearing as a client might hear, and feeling and experiencing what they are internally. It is often described as the capacity to view and understand the world through another person's frame of reference.
Despite having an empathic attitude, the counselor remains separate from the client. Empathy is different from sympathy. In sympathy we feel sorry for the sufferer, whereas in empathy, the counselor perceives the individual as having full strengths for the personality development. Positive regard can be defined as being able to recognize value and strength in a client even when the client holds widely different attitudes. One way of achieving this is by discussing with the client possible areas of strengths such as past successes, supportive relations, and spirituality. Draw out from the client a personal narrative or story that focuses on their positive strengths. And last, there is genuineness which can be described as being consistency in one’s values, attitudes, and behaviors. To be effective counselors must be able to allow themselves to be seen by others as they actually are. Along with being empathetic and having a positive regard, we must be ourselves and not present ourselves as facades.

References:
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.
Messer, S. B. (1992). A critical examination of belief structures in integrative and eclectic psychotherapy. In J. C. Norcross, & M. R. Goldfried, (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy integration (pp. 130–165). New York: Basic Books.
Norcross, J. C. (2005). A primer on psychotherapy integration. In J. C. Norcross & M. R. Goldfried (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy integration (2nd ed., pp. 3–23). New York: Oxford.
Rogers, C. (1957) ‘The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change’, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21 (2): 95-103