Recently I’ve been thinking about the pros and cons of therapy exclusivism (my own term). What I mean by this is schools, services or individuals who decide on a single therapeutic pathway. This might be a school that says “we only use this approach for communication”, or a therapist who only uses one particular intervention. In these situations therapeutic orientation may be decided prior to client/person contact.
I can see pros in having a very strong orientation to a particular therapeutic approach:
– it allows for expertise to be developed in practitioners – expertise is invaluable
– it may give potential clients/students/people a very clear picture of expectations of therapeutic contact
– it may give consistency over time of therapeutic approach.
I do have worries about it too. I recently watched a Youtube video where a practitioner advised parents to not send their child to a school unless it used a particular approach.
I worry when I feel that a particular approach is decided before knowing the person to whom it will be applied and the skills and experience of practitioners.
However, some may argue that some interventions could be applied to everyone irregardless of diagnosis, current presentation, or presenting problem…
What are your thoughts? Are my concerns unfounded? Do we have more to gain from therapy exclusivism than we have to lose?
Attentive Engagement