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ABSTRACT: Wilber's (1995) integral theory is now being applied in multiple disciplines including psychotherapy. While most of the literature has been theoretical, more focus is needed on how integral constructs help psychotherapists conceptualize their work and how the constructs relate to the practice of psychotherapy. This paper posits four uses of perspectives that are outlined in integral theory and discusses their use in psychotherapy and supervision.
Since the development of Wilber's integral (1995) model and integral psychology Wilber (2000a), scholars and practitioners have begun applying the integral model to different disciplines including psychotherapy. There are theoretical publications exploring Wilber's ideas (e. g. Adams, 2007; Angel, 2007) but not many papers with applied focus on integral ideas in the practice of psychotherapy. This may be because, as Foreman (2004) noted, integral psychotherapy is still unformed. From application, the constructs can be further critiqued, researched and refined as needed and the praxis of integral psychotherapy can move toward a mature form. There are clinicians and researchers applying integral theory to substance abuse counseling (Amodia, Cano, & Eliason, 2005; Eliason & Amodia, 2007), group counseling (Black & Westwood, 2004), school counseling (Ingersoll & Bauer, 2004), diagnosis (Ingersoll, 2002; Teodorescu, 2003; Wehowsky, 2000), and youth counseling (Forbes, 2003). A special issue of the journal Counseling & Values was dedicated to applied integral counseling and psychotherapy. That issue included five papers on integral theory (Marquis, 2007), the role of development (Cook-Greuter & Soulen, 2007), the self-system (Ingersoll & Cook-Greuter, 2007), defenses (Pearson, 2007) and ethics (Foster & Black, 2007). In addition, Foreman (2004) reviewed the integral model in-depth and examined its implications for psychotherapy and Marquis (2008) designed an integral assessment process based on his dissertation work.
While each of these works has contributed to our knowledge of how to apply integral theory to work with clients, there is need for more specific discussion and application of how constructs particular to the theory can inform assessment, treatment and supervision. In addition to being a framework that helps therapists organize and draw from existing theories of psychotherapy (Parlee, 2006), integral also has unique elements forged from Wilber's synthesis of depth psychology, wisdom traditions, and human development. This paper focuses on one such element, the role of perspectives in integral...