What is an Integrative Psychologist and What Are Their Benefits?

Psychology is a discipline with more than a century of history and, furthermore, from the beginning it has been nourished by different philosophical currents when proposing its methods and objectives. Therefore, 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. 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 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.

What is an integrative psychologist?

An integrative psychologist is a psychology professional who brings together 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 the 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 behavioral patterns of the client or patient; This is a form of intervention that usually provides significant benefits compared to the application of a classic unimodal therapy.

Generally, integrative psychologists They address the 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 rather adopt measures to never lose sight of the overall well-being of the person as a complex being, made up of several systems that interact with each other.

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

In addition to that, currently more recent resources such as Mindfulness, neurofeedback or EMDR Therapy can also be integrated into therapy, all of them in a way adapted to the needs of each client (and only where it makes sense to use them, having examined each particular case).

Main benefits of integrative psychology

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

1. Variety of explanatory frameworks

One of the main advantages that integrative psychology therapy offers over other classic interventions based on a single orientation is that the former is based on diverse explanatory frameworks, developed to address different dimensions of the human being. 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) a person’s behavior.

2. Adapted intervention

Integrative Therapy allows for an intervention adapted from the first session to the needs of each client, combining the best therapies available to the psychologist, without falling into limitations established from the beginning.

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

3. Comprehensive intervention

In addition to combining various effective therapies adapted to each case, the other main advantage of the integrative psychologist’s way of working is that it allows the client’s problems to be addressed at all levels of their person.

This means that with this type of therapy we can address your mental health, but also your physical health, emotional, social, family problems, and also personal crises that you may present.

4. Interdisciplinary interventions

Integrative psychologists have another essential advantage, which is the ease with which you work in an interdisciplinary manner with other health and wellness professionals such as psychiatrists, psychopedagogues, physiotherapists, nutritionists or trainers.

5. The importance of the therapeutic relationship

The establishment of a significant 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.