What is an integrative psychologist and what are its benefits?

Psychology is a discipline with more than a century of history and, moreover, from the beginning it has been nourished by different philosophical currents when proposing its methods and its objectives. For this reason, it is normal that today there are very diverse proposals when it comes to researching and providing solutions to people's problems; in this sense, there is a wide variety of ways of working in the field of psychotherapy.

These methodologies can be based on different conceptions about what the human mind is, about what leads us to know ourselves, and even about what leads us to relate to others in one way or another. other. Some psychology professionals specialize in only one of these currents, while others combine several with each other; among those who belong to this last group we find the integrative psychologists. But… What is an integrative psychologist and what are the advantages of this way of working? Let's see it in this article.

• Related article: "What is psychotherapy? Main characteristics of this process"

What is an integrative psychologist?

An integrative psychologist is a psychology professional who combines various psychological currents in the field of applied psychology, that is, when addressing specific problems that affect real people or groups of people, going beyond working solely from theory.

The Integrative Psychologist addresses each of its clients' problems or disorders in a multimodal way, attending to all the physical and psychological aspects that make up the personality and behavior patterns of the client or patient; It is a form of intervention that usually provides significant benefits compared to the application of a classic unimodal therapy.

Integrative psychologists generally attend to cognitive, behavioral, affective and also psycho-physiological aspects, which are the most important elements when it comes to understanding the mental health of the person they are caring for, as well as their current life circumstances at all levels. However, they do not focus their attention solely on one or two of these elements, but take steps to avoid losing never view the overall well-being of the person as a complex being, made up of various systems that interact with each other Yeah.

Integrative psychology is mainly based on applying various strategies or psychological therapies to the intervention of the professional, being the most common: Cognitive-behavioral Therapy, the humanist-existential model, Neuroscience, Evolutionary Psychology and Dialectical Therapy behavioral

In addition to that, more recent resources such as the mindfulness, neurofeedback or EMDR Therapy, all of them adapted to the needs of each client (and only where it makes sense to use them, having examined each particular case).

• You may be interested in: "What to expect and what not to expect from psychological therapy"

Main benefits of integrative psychology

As we have commented, integrative psychology presents a series of benefits compared to other modalities of therapeutic intervention, we present the most notable below.

1. Variety of explanatory frameworks

One of the main advantages offered by integrative psychology therapy compared to other classical interventions based on a The only orientation is that the first is based on diverse explanatory frameworks, developed to address different dimensions of being. human. In this way, it is possible to apply in each case the combination of several theoretical-practical proposals when understand and predict (as far as possible) the behavior of a person.

• Related article: "Mental health: definition and characteristics according to psychology"

2. Tailored intervention

The Integrative Therapy allows to achieve an intervention adapted from the first session to the needs of each client, uniting the best therapies available to the psychologist, without falling into limitations established from a start.

In addition, this way of working offers more flexibility and fluidity when it comes to detecting errors or unexpected psychological elements and course correct therapy on the fly, since the way in which it had been working can give rise to a new one, as there is continuity between the models of psychology.

3. Comprehensive intervention

In addition to combining various effective therapies adapted to each case, the other main advantage of the way of work of the integrative psychologist is that it allows addressing the client's problems at all levels of his person.

This means that with this type of therapy we will be able to address your mental health, but also your health. physical, emotional, social, family problems and also personal crises that may introduce.

4. interdisciplinary interventions

Integrative psychologists have another essential advantage, which is the ease with which you work interdisciplinary with other health and wellness professionals such as psychiatrists, educational psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists or coaches.

5. The importance of the therapeutic relationship

The establishment of a meaningful therapeutic bond or relationship between patient and therapist is essential in any type of psychological intervention, and in Integrative Therapy this bond is created with greater power and ease: the person feels heard and is not pressured to express their problems in a way that conforms to a certain theoretical current.

Do you want to train in integrative psychology?

If you are interested in expanding your knowledge and skills in this field, we invite you to discover the Master in Integrative Psychotherapy of Edeca Training.

This online training program gives you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of different therapeutic approaches and learn how to integrate them effectively into your clinical practice. The master's degree is directed by professionals of recognized prestige and has an innovative methodology that combines theory and practice. In addition, you will have access to a wide range of resources and support materials to improve your skills and knowledge.

Do not hesitate to click on the following link to obtain more information and enroll in this page.