Summarizing and Clarifying the Unified Approach

Abstract

Unifying approaches to psychotherapy are gaining increasing traction. More theorists, researchers, and practitioners are seeing that it is plausible, useful, and feasible to be grounded in a broad, metatheoretical view of psychology and to use that to understand the person, problem, situation, and valued outcome we seek in psychotherapy. In this reaction to the commentaries of my target paper, I highlight emerging areas of consensus among us regarding the utility of a unified approach to psychotherapy. From that, I engage in Dubue and Harris’ questions regarding the treatment I described, with a particular focus on why my approach to psychological mindfulness is a valuable addition and how the empirical literature on suicidal behavior and treatment can inform the unified approach to psychotherapy I adopt. I then turn to Marquis’ thoughtful reflections and comment on why I agree that all corrective experiences in therapy are well-described as emotionally corrective and how my approach to treating Maggie could likely have benefited from incorporating more experientially grounded work that explicitly targeted the defensive system.