SEPI Becoming a More Integrative Psychotherapist: An Intro to Training in Unified Psychotherapy

Unified Psychotherapy (UP) represents a comprehensive approach to integrative practice. UP is a meta-theoretical approach that organizes theories and techniques within a holistic framework. This framework encourages psychotherapists to build and expand their competency over time. UP represents a fifth route to psychotherapy integration.
Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP) is a systematic method for teaching therapists and counselors to think and practice in an integrative manner. TUP describes psychological functioning in a multidimensional manner, highlighting the way current functioning is shaped by both external and influence influences. This approach to training is organized around a unified framework that describes the relationship between nine approaches. First, TUP encourages psychotherapists to work interactively, focusing on three dimensions of current functioning: (1) cognition, (2) emotion, and (3) behavior. Each of these dimensions can support or hinder adaptation. Second, TUP encourages psychotherapists to understand the impact of four external influences: (4) development across life experiences, (5) interpersonal patterns, (6) families and other microsystems, and (7) sociocultural macrosystems. Therapists can explore how each of these factors can shape cognition, emotion, and behavior. Third, TUP encourages psychotherapists to explore the impact of two internal influences: (8) unconscious processes, and (9) biological health. Therapists can understand how these factors impact the way clients think, feel, and act.
TUP teaches psychotherapists how to formulate a multitheoretical conceptualization using different theories as complementary perspectives. TUP supports unified treatment planning that allows psychotherapy to be customized based on the individual needs of each client. This webinar will provide an overview of TUP and encourage participants to consider Level One Training that will be offered for free through SEPI in the summer of 2022.