While many counselors and therapists identify themselves as working within the general framework of a specific school or theory of psychology and of personality, others create a personalized therapeutic approach and related strategies that draw upon several different theoretical and therapeutic approaches. Among those approaches described by Corey (1986, 1991) are Individual or Adlerian therapy, Existentialism in counseling, Reality and Client-Centered Therapies, Cognitive and Behavior Therapies, Behavioral approaches, and Gestalt Therapy. Each of these approaches offers both a way of understanding the individual and his or her personality, the effect of development processes on the individual, the role played by the external and familial environment in shaping personality and behavior, and the ways in which stressors and other factors affect the individual (Coleman, 1989). Consequently, an eclectic approach to therapy may draw elements from several of these disparate schools to create what is called herein "Bob's Eclectic Therapy."
Central criteria for this new school, called "Bob's Eclectic Approach (BEA), include the following items which are presented along with their theoretical referents.
1. The client is a unique individual who functions within a specific familial and social system (Gestalt).
2. The client is deserving of unconditional positive regard and all therapeutic interventions should be oriented toward caring for and supporting the client (Persona- or Client-Centered Therapy).
3. The role of the therapist is more directive than non-directive; the therapist must focus the client on identifying those behaviors or attitudes that are detrimental to personal well-being and toward changing what needs to be changed (Reality, Client-Centered, Cognitive, Behavioral, and Individual Therapies).
4. The client has likely experienced some events or influences in childhood that may have fostered a sense of inferior...