Collaborative therapy is a therapy developed by

Harlene Anderson Harlene Anderson (born 1942) is an American psychologist and a cofounder of the Postmodern Collaborative Approach to therapy. In the 1980s, Anderson and her colleague Harold A. Goolishian pioneered a new technique that is used to relate to patients ...

, along with Harold A. Goolishian (1924–1991), in the US. It is intended for clients who are well educated in any field, or for those that have distrust of

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

s due to past negative experiences with one or more.

Overview

Collaborative therapy gives the client the option to have a "non-authoritarian" counsellor, for clients who are not

heteronormative Heteronormativity is the definition of heterosexuality as the normative human sexuality. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between peo ...

, who have

gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to inconsistency between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender i ...

or are

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

, or who choose to live an

alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle or unconventional lifestyle is a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle perceived to be outside the social norm, norm for a given culture. The term ''alternative lifestyle'' is often used pejoratively. Description of a related ...

. Anderson used collaborative therapy in

family therapy Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychotherapy focused on families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and ...

and marriage therapy with success, and believed it could help families and partners to understand the client better, should the client find that they cannot adhere to

social norm A social norm is a shared standard of acceptance, acceptable behavior by a group. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into wikt:rule, rules and laws. Social norma ...

s any more, such as

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as transgender or

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

. Collaborative therapy is intended primarily for adults, and for those with

dual diagnosis Dual diagnosis (also called co-occurring disorders (COD) or dual pathology) is the condition of having a mental illness and a comorbid substance use disorder. Several US based surveys suggest that about half of those with a mental illness will ...

, (i.e. more than one mental health issue usually due to

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

such as alcohol and non-

prescription drug A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs c ...

s);

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, chronic

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

and parents with

psychosis In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

body dysmorphic disorder Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined ...

. The model is a

postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

approach that maintains that human reality is created through

social construction Social constructionism is a term used in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory. The term can serve somewhat different functions in each field; however, the foundation of this theoretical framework suggests various facets of s ...

and dialogue, and aims to avoid "the traditional Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (

DSM-IV The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (''DSM''; latest edition: ''DSM-5-TR'', published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a com ...

) used to diagnose individuals". It uses the idea that the clients become subject to mental pain when they have tried to apply "oppressive tories which dominate the person's life. It posits that problems occur when the way in which peoples' lives are storied by themselves and others does not significantly fit with their lived experience. It also assumes that significant aspects of their lived experience may contradict the dominant narrative in their lives. It states that the client internalizes what they regard as unreasonable societal standards, and in doing so are aspiring to ideals of fulfillment and excellence, leading to, for example, self-starvation and

anorexia Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

, extreme self-criticism in

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

, or a sense of powerlessness in the face of threat and

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

obsessive compulsive disorder Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Obsession (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Fixation (psychology), persi ...

(OCD), and

trichotillomania Trichotillomania (TTM), also known as hair-pulling disorder or compulsive hair pulling, is a mental disorder characterized by a long-term urge that results in the pulling out of one's own hair. A brief positive feeling may occur as hair is rem ...

(hair pulling). These last two mental health issues as well as anorexia can often symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).

Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and chang ...

(CBT) can also be useful to treat this last condition.) (page 2)

Process

Using the principle of 'not-knowing', Goolishian and Anderson's term for the recommended approach that therapists should have towards their clients. In this approach therapists avoid taking dogmatic postures and try to remain flexible to have their perspectives altered by their clients. In her book, Conversation Language and Possibilities: A Postmodern Approach to Therapy, Anderson says, "The meaning that emerges n therapyis influenced by what a therapist bring into conversation and their interactions with each other about it. The issue of new meaning relies on the novelty (not-knowing). Fred Newman and Lois Holzman talk about something quite similar when they speak about the "end of knowing." Fred Newman discusses the concept of non-knowing in his book, ''The End of Knowing; A New Developmental Way of Learning''. The therapist stance according to Collaborative Theory is summarized in the following list: * Mutually Inquiring Conversational Partnership – Therapy as a partnership * Relational Expertise – Client and therapist bring their expertise together * Not-Knowing – Humility before the client * Being Public – Therapist is open with their invisible thoughts * Living with Uncertainty – Enjoy the spontaneity of a conversation * Mutually Transforming –

Hermeneutic circle The hermeneutic circle () describes the process of understanding a text hermeneutically. It refers to the idea that one's understanding of the text as a whole is established by reference to the individual parts and one's understanding of each in ...

, reciprocal effect on client and therapist * Orienting towards Everyday Ordinary Life – Tap into natural resilience of clients.

Bibliography

* ''"Collaborative Therapy: Relationships and Conversations that make a Difference"'', (2007) Anderson, Harlene; Gehart, Diane. ''Collaborative Therapy: Relationships and Conversations that make a Difference'' (Softcover) {{ISBN, 978-0-415-95326-9 (Hardcover). 2007. Routledge. New York. Oxon.

References

External links

Social Construction Therapies Network
Psychotherapy by type Treatment of bipolar disorder